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Strategies & Market Trends : Speculating in Takeover Targets -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: richardred who wrote (2517)	11/21/2010 7:35:04 PM
From: richardred	Respond to of 7259

Barry Tompkins: So long, Sara Lee By Barry Tompkins IJ correspondent Posted: 11/21/2010 10:00:00 AM PST SAD NEWS TO report from the baking world this week. Sara Lee has been forced to take an early retirement at the age of 71. Sara Lee was born in 1939 and has been extremely popular through seven decades. In fact, it could be said that nobody doesn't like Sara Lee. Ms. Lee succumbed to failing economic times when she decided to get her buns out of the business or, perhaps better said, to get her business out of her buns in order to concentrate on other, more personal holdings -- like Jimmy Dean's sausage. Ms. Lee reportedly got the idea of selling the baking portion of her empire when her granddaughter suggested a cake sale to fund the school band's trip to Disneyland. Ms. Lee netted $959 million, which was enough to include the entire tuba section -- including the ghost of John Philip Sousa. Financial analysts were not surprised by the sale, coming on the heels of Ms. Lee's avoidance of a hostile takeover by the Pillsbury Doughboy several years ago. The Doughboy himself -- as has been reported recently -- died in October of a yeast infection. For her part, Sara Lee will be rolling in dough -- much as she has for the past 71 years -- but now under the auspices of Mexican baking giant Grupo Bimbo. A name, which -- quite ironically -- describes my own dating habits prior to my marriage. Grupo Bimbo is a powerhouse baking consortium in Mexico, which will spend some $4 billion in the United Advertisement Acai Berry EXPOSED: MacedonAcai Berry EXPOSED: MacedonMacedon Warning: Health Reporter Discovers The Shocking Truth!Macedon: Local Mom Makes $77/hr Online!Macedon: Local Mom Makes $77/hr Online!Unemployed Mom Makes $6,397/Month Working Online! Read How She Did It.Banks Forced To Forgive Credit Card DebtBanks Forced To Forgive Credit Card DebtNew Credit Laws Allow Macedon Consumers to Reduce Debt up to 60%...Ads by Yabuka Quantcast States adding to the 75 bakeries in 31 states and about 28,000 people currently employed by Ms. Lee. Employees interviewed for this story said that improvements in the bread baking system were sorely kneaded. Grupo Bimbo is widely known south of the border by their slogan, "If you think our cakes make you feel good, you ought to try our brownies." (OK, if you must know, I made that up. It isn't really their slogan.) But, while Ms. Lee will now "seek other opportunities," the company that bears her name will continue to operate several other enterprises in which they say they can make more bread than bread. The corporation currently owns and operates Ball Park Franks, the aforementioned Jimmy Dean sausage and Hillshire Farms sausages. Corporate officials asked about the transition from baked goods to meat products said, "We are confident that in these acquisitions we have a wiener." Another division of Sara Lee recently reported to have been in some financial straits is Kiwi Shoe Polish. It seems that the flightless New Zealand birds are not wearing as much footwear as they once did and the market place for the specialized polish is dwindling. Another product of the conglomerate that is reportedly foundering is Ty-D-Bol. It seems that the sight of a man in a boat in one's toilet is frightening some rural children who on more than one occasion have attempted to flush the company's advertising spokesman despite what appears to be his cheerful disposition. The tempest has been further fueled recently by rumors of an affair between Ms. Lee and the Ty-D-Bol man. He is reportedly seeking a bailout. News of the sale of the baking division has meant a greater production facility for the company's insecticide product, Fumitox (I would suggest here that the boys in marketing start working on a more user-friendly name -- or at the very least -- an advertising slogan that says something like: "Fumitox -- perfect for killing all living things".) And one other thing -- during the plant changeover from baking to rodent prevention -- I'd be inclined to stay away from the cherry pie. Barry Tompkins is a longtime sports broadcaster who lives in Marin. Contact him at barrytompkins@barrytompkins.com. marinij.com

To: richardred who wrote (2517)	1/9/2011 11:19:16 PM
From: richardred	Respond to of 7259

Apollo, Entrepreneur Consider Sara Lee Buyout By GINA CHON and ANUPREETA DAS Private-equity firm Apollo Global Management LLC and investor C. Dean Metropoulos have formed a group of investors to explore a purchase of Sara Lee Corp., people familiar with the matter said. Apollo and Mr. Metropoulos, a Connecticut entrepreneur who acquired Pabst Brewing Co. last year, are leading a consortium that includes Bain Capital LLC and TPG Capital LP, the people said. View Full Image SARALEE Bloomberg News Sara Lee recently rejected a bid from Brazilian beef processor JBS. The group has met in recent weeks with Sara Lee's advisers to discuss a possible deal, the people added. Apollo and, separately, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., had approached Sara Lee last year about a buyout, but the company had decided against a sale, the people said. Mr. Metropoulos is a veteran of the consumer-products industry and was chief executive of Pinnacle Foods Group LLC, the maker of Duncan Hines cake mixes and Mrs. Butterworth's syrups, which was sold to Blackstone Group LP in 2007 for $1.3 billion. Sara Lee recently rejected a takeover offer from Brazilian beef processor JBS SA and is waiting to see if JBS will return with a higher proposal, people familiar with the matter said. Although Sara Lee is open to approaches, it is moving ahead with plans to split off its meats and coffee businesses into two separate companies, people familiar with the matter said. Representatives for Apollo, Bain and Mr. Metropoulos declined to comment. TPG couldn't be reached for comment. Sara Lee's board plans to meet later this month to evaluate its future. If the company splits up its main businesses, each could be sold separately, making it easier for buyers to finance a deal, the people familiar with the matter said. JBS and private-equity firms might be interested in parts of Sara Lee, the people familiar with the matter said. JBS, which has a market capitalization similar to Sara Lee's roughly $11 billion, could have trouble securing financing for a purchase of the entire company. A $10 billion leveraged buyout by private-equity firms, meanwhile, has proved elusive since the financial crisis. But the debt markets have recovered and private-equity industry observers say that a $10 billion deal is possible this year. Sara Lee's coffee business, which has growing brands in Europe and Brazil, is among its most attractive assets, with $3 billion in revenue and an operating margin of 18% for the fiscal year ended in June. The meats business, meanwhile, had $346 million in income from continuing operations on $2.82 billion in sales. —Ilan Brat contributed to this article. online.wsj.com