EU extends review of Unilever-Sara Lee deal

The European Union extended a review of Unilever's planned purchase of Downers Grove-based Sara Lee Corp.'s shower-gel and European detergents business by almost three weeks.

The European Commission is extending the deadline to Oct. 22 from Oct. 5 to examine proposals put forward by the companies to eliminate antitrust concerns, it said on its website today.

The extension will help Unilever "to address any remaining issues with the commission," company spokesman Flip Dotsch said in an e-mailed statement. He declined to say what remedies were offered.

Companies sometimes agree to sell units or make changes to business practices to alleviate regulators' concerns that a deal could harm competition and result in price hikes. On Aug. 13, Unilever said it faced formal objections from the EU antitrust regulator for the 1.3 billion-euro ($1.7 billion) deal.

The commission, the 27-nation EU's antitrust agency, previously extended its review of the transaction in June, saying the transaction "creates significant overlaps in a number of products" such as deodorants, skin cleansers and fabric-care goods. Unilever, the world's second-largest consumer-goods maker, is seeking to buy the Sara Lee lines to further focus on international brands.

Unilever, the London- and Rotterdam-based maker of Dove soap and Lipton tea, said earlier this month it expected the purchase to be completed in the fourth quarter, later than the previously announced third-quarter target date.

An EU statement of objections doesn't necessarily mean the regulator will attempt to block the deal. The EU approved TomTom NV's purchase of digital-mapping company Tele Atlas NV in 2008 a few months after sending a statement indicating the purchase may have violated antitrust rules.