Unilever Sells North American Laundry Unit to Vestar

By Jurjen van de Pol and Joram Kanner

July 28 (Bloomberg) -- Unilever, the world's second-biggest consumer-products company, agreed to sell its laundry business in North America to Vestar Capital Partners for $1.45 billion.

Vestar will pay $1.08 billion in cash and $375 million in shares in a new venture it will set up, London- and Rotterdam- based Unilever said today in a Regulatory News Service statement. Vestar will merge the business with its existing Huish Detergents Inc. and form a new company, Sun Products Corp.

Unilever agreed to sell the unit, which makes detergents including All, Wisk and Surf, as part of a plan to dispose of businesses generating 2 billion euros ($3.1 billion) in sales. North American detergents generated $1 billion in revenue last year. The company last week sold some Bertolli brands to Sos Cuetara SA for 630 million euros.

``This is a better-than-expected price,'' said Richard Withagen, an analyst at SNS Securities with an ``accumulate'' rating. ``The company's disposal program is doing very well. They're getting good prices for their assets in a difficult economic environment.''

The company will continue to sell detergent outside of North America and will focus on markets where it has a ``leading position,'' it said.

Separately, Unilever spokesman Trevor Gorin said the company is moving some of its research and development to India and China. He was responding to a report in today's Economic Times.

``These markets are going to be hugely important to us,'' Gorin said. He declined to comment on a Sunday Times report that Chief Executive Officer Patrick Cescau has told the board he would step down in May of next year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jurjen van de Pol in Amsterdam jvandepol@bloomberg.net