Bloombergreports that Procter & Gamble is purchasing Sara Lee Corp.'s Ambi Pur brand of air fresheners and toilet-cleaning products for $468 million.
Ambi Pur will help Procter & Gamble expand in Europe, Australia, Africa and some countries in Asia. The brand, which includes toilet-cleaning products, is sold in 80 countries, P&G said today in a statement. Ambi Pur had sales of 260 million euros in the year ended in June, P&G said.
"This just shows that they’re willing to reinvest in their business," Jack Russo, an analyst with Edward Jones & Co. in St. Louis, said in an interview. “They're building up their homecare business, which has been real successful for them." He rates the shares "buy."
In a press release David Taylor, P&G group president-global home care, said P&G is also interested in Ambi Pur's technologies.
"Ambi Pur also brings high-performance products and new technologies to our current Air Care portfolio, including car air fresheners, battery-powered air fresheners, toilet rim blocks and various non-energized air fresheners," added David Taylor. "We see many opportunities to leverage these additional technologies and P&G's core capabilities in consumer understanding, innovation, brand building and go-to-market execution to grow both the Febreze and Ambi Pur brands robustly for many years to come."
Bloomberg says Sara Lee sold the unit because it is focusing on coffee and food items.
Bloomberg 
