P&G, Colgate May Bid For Unilever's Sanex Unit

Unilever UN, the Anglo-Dutch consumer products giant, is shopping its Sanex unit, a business that was the company's primary reason for acquiring Sara Lee's SLE international toiletries business in December for $1.69 billion, in sale that is being forced by the European Union due to competitive concerns.

Finding a buyer won't be difficult as Dow component Procter & Gamble PG, Colgate-Palmolive and Henkel AG are reportedly interested in Sanex, according to Bloomberg News. Sanex could be sold for $1 billion and a deal could be announced in the next few weeks, Bloomberg reported, citing sources familiar with the talks.

Another Dow component Johnson & Johnson JNJ could make a bid for Sanex as could L'Oreal, the sources told Bloomberg. JPMorgan Chase JPM is managing the sale for Unilever.

Unilever was hoping Sanex would be one of the businesses to help the company bolster its sales in emerging markets, but that will not be the case due to the forced sale. One analyst quoted by Bloomberg said the sale of Sanex is an embarrassment for Unilver because Sanex was the reason Unilever did the deal with Sara Lee to start with.