European regulators looking into sale of Sara Lee unit

Unilever said its acquisition of Downer's Grove-based Sara Lee Corp.'s shower-gel and European detergents business will be reviewed in greater detail by the European Commission to determine the deal's full impact in some markets.

The antitrust regulator will move its review into "phase two," examining the transaction "on a market-by-market basis," Unilever spokesman Trevor Gorin said today by telephone. The maker of Dove soap and Lipton tea now expects the purchase to be completed in the fourth quarter, later than the third-quarter timeframe previously announced.

"We still think it will go through; we have the whole team working on completion," said Gorin. "The whole point of going through this process is for the commission to detail what needs to be done where, and then have a discussion about that. A lot of it is about market definition."

Unilever's Chief Executive Officer Paul Polman last year broke the company's nine-year streak of avoiding major takeovers with the 1.3 billion-euro ($1.6 billion) Sara Lee purchase, which includes more than 90 brands in 19 European countries. The CEO has marked 1 billion euros to 2 billion euros a year for so- called bolt-on acquisitions similar to the deal under review.

Gorin declined to comment on any specific markets where the commission had raised concerns, or on whether any brand disposals may be necessary in some territories.

Amelia Torres, a European Commission spokeswoman for competition, declined to comment on whether the regulator had extended its review. She said the commission has until May 31 to make the decision.