Unilever is preparing a 6 billion pound ($7.44 billion) sale of some of its food brands, British newspapers reported on Saturday, without citing sources.
The British-Dutch company is planning to sell Flora margarine and Stork butter brands, the Sunday Times said. The Sunday Telegraph, which also cited a figure of 6 billion pounds, said unnamed parties were preparing to buy the brands.
The maker of Hellmann's mayonnaise, Ben & Jerry's ice cream, and Dove toiletries rebuffed a surprise $143 billion takeover offer from Kraft Heinz last month.
Kraft's offer of $50 a share valued Unilever at about $143 billion and represented an 18% premium on the company's market value, but Unilever said the offer undervalued it. A merger between the two companies would have been one of the largest in history.
The company has launched a business review to consider returning cash to shareholders, making medium-size acquisitions and more aggressive cost cuts, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.
Unilever owns an array of brands from food and beverages (including Becel and Lipton tea) to home and personal care (including Vaseline and Axe).
