Unilever to buy Sara Lee unit

London: Unilever, the maker of Dove soap, agreed to buy Sara Lee’s personal-care and European detergent unit for €1.28 billion, gaining Sanex shower gel in its biggest purchase in nine years.

Unilever, based in London and Rotterdam, will pay cash for the business, which makes Duschdas and Radox soap and had sales of more than €750 million for the year ending June 2009, according to a statement.

Sara Lee, which has been shedding units to focus on coffee and food, said the proceeds would help it buy back as much as $1 billion (€687m) in stock.