J.M. Smucker Company has completed a majority purchase of Sara Lee's Corp (NYSE: SLE) North American Foodservice coffee and tea operations through an all-cash transaction. In addition to this majority stake purchase, the two companies have also established a licensing and support agreements to coorperatively develop liquid coffee technologies for the benefit of both parties. The continued development of liquid coffee technologies is seen as a long-term growth potential.

Sara Lee Corp operates a leading portfolio of food and beverage brands including Hillshire Farm, Jimmy Dean, Pickwick Teas, Sara Less, Ball Park, Douwe Egberts and Senseo. The food and drink corporation generates nearly US$9 billion in annual net sales and employs approximately 20,000 personnel worldwide. Last year, in January 2011, Sara Lee Corp announced that the company will divide into two publicly traded companies with one focused on the international coffee and tea market and the other focusing on North American meats industry.

The sale of Sara Lee's North American Foodservice Coffee operations was originally announced in October 2011. The executive chairman of Sara Lee Corp's board, Jan Bennink, has been quoted as saying, the sale of the major part of Sara Lee's North American coffee business to Smucker is the latest example of CoffeeCo's focus on creating the strongest pure-play company. Sara Lee's board are looking forward to working with Smucker in the near future.

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