The previous offer valued Sara Lee for 17

All options are open to Sara Lee. The agri-food group specializing in coffee (coffee house, etc.) and meat, could be the subject of a LBO conducted by tenors of the "private equity", pass under the Brazilian flag, or still is split in two.

Six months is a CEO a.i., Marcel Smits, who is at the controls, CEO, Brenda Barnes, is being withdrawn in August for health reasons. The Board of Directors sought a new pattern - without success to date - and remained undecided on the policy. Three scenarios are currently evoked by the American press.

The Wall Street Journal yesterday revealed the interest of Apollo Global Management for the establishment of an LBO. "Private equity" Fund would be working on this hypothesis with the Dean Mitropoulos contractor and GPT and Bain Capital Fund. Group y without convincing.

JBS, Brazilian meat specialist, could also make a new offer on Sara Lee after he spurned last month. According to the Bloomberg Agency, its leaders will return this week to the United States. The previous offer valued Sara Lee for $ 17.50 $ 11 billion the action. In a report released yesterday, Terry seizures, analyst at JP Morgan, said that the price may rise up to 23 $ action. "During the last ten years, equivalent companies were sold on the basis of 9 or 9.5 times their gross operating surplus, which involves an assignment to 18 or 19 $ action", he notes. With a premium, he manages to 23 dollars. The title also reached $ 18 yesterday in mid-morning, pushed upward by the different rumours.

Another possibility considered by the Board of Directors would split the group into two entities. On the one hand, coffee, whose activities are mainly in Europe and generates a turnover of $ 3.2 billion. On the other, the meat, representing annual sales of $ 2.8 billion.

The current structure is indeed "inefficient from a tax point of view and lack of synergies between the entities of proteins and beverages", said JP Morgan analyst. According to him, the likelihood of a transaction (acquisition, split...) is "high" and "could create value." Among the possible purchasers for the meat industry are Hormel Foods and Tyson Foods, according to a report by Deutsche Bank published yesterday.

Disposals of assets

Since the departure of CEO last summer, the strategy of the Group of 10 billion dollars in sales focused on the continuation of the assignments in non-strategic assets, to focus on the agri-food. Just before Saint-Sylvestre, Sara Lee has thus accepted, conditional, an offer of compatriot SC Johnson to resume its Polish and other products to shoes to 245 million euros. This activity, which includes the brands Kiwi, Kiwi Kleen, Bama, Tana and Meltonian, carried out in 2009 a turnover of approximately EUR 230 million.

These assignments must report a total of $ 3.8 billion (2.3 billion come from three activities already sold and 1.5 billion additional four other operations with a view). The product of these divestitures is to finance an ambitious program of buyback shares $ 2.5 to $ 3 billion.