These two businesses generated aggregate revenue of approximately $318m in fiscal year 2011, and sell products primarily in France, Sweden, Italy, Australia and New Zealand.

The sale includes all fresh bakery brands of Sara Lee in Spain and Portugal as well as seven manufacturing facilities.

Sara Lee's remaining international bakery businesses headquartered in France and Australia remain the subject of a divestiture process and a strategic review, respectively.

Jan Bennink, executive chairman of the board at Sara Lee, said: “The move to Grupo Bimbo is a natural next step that can benefit the Sara Lee bakery team and brands in Spain and Portugal, as they would become part of an organization fully dedicated to the bakery category.

"Divesting the bakery businesses allows Sara Lee's international portfolio to become simpler and more focused on coffee and tea, the categories around which we are building a leading pure-play international company."

The transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory clearance, is expected to close in next two months.

Earlier this month, the company has completed the sale of its North American Refrigerated Dough business to Ralcorp Frozen Bakery Products, a division of Ralcorp Holdings, for $545m.

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