Sara Lee buys Brazilian out-of-homeplayer Expresso.Coffee

Sara Lee Corp. (NYSE: SLE) today announced the acquisition of Expresso.Coffee, a business specialized in selling espresso coffee in the out-of-home small business, vending and bakeries (padarias)segments in Brazil, for an undisclosed amount.

“This acquisition substantially expands the branding and consumer connection platform for our Pilão brand,” said Michiel Herkemij, chief executive officer, Sara Lee International Beverages. “Adding Expresso.Coffee to our portfolio reinforces our leadership position in the profitable and fast-growing São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro markets.”

Expresso.Coffee is growing rapidlyfueled in part by a license to sell coffee under the Pilão brand. The company operates more than 1,000 selling points in the 19-million consumer São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro regions,where Sara Lee is already the retail market leader thanks to brands such as Pilão, Café do Ponto and Damasco.

Sara Lee is in the midst of dividing the company into two publicly traded, pure-play entitiesby the end of the first half of calendar year 2012. The company focused on the international coffee and tea market will be named D.E MASTER BLENDERS 1753 and be based in the Netherlands.