P&G-Sara Lee Deal May Face EU Probe

The UK's competitor supervisor has requested that the European Commission investigate aspects of P&G's plan to acquire Sara Lee's air care business.

By Andrea Tse , Mar 17, 2010 2:55 PM EDT

NEW YORK (

TheStreet

) -- The UK's competition overseer has requested that the European Commission investigate the UK aspects of consumer goods behemoth

P&G's

(PG) - Get Report

plan to acquire

Sara Lee's

(SLE)

air care business.

The Office of Fair Trading says that it makes sense for the European Commission to take on a single investigation of the proposed P&G-Sara Lee deal, given that it qualifies for investigation by many European Union states, potentially including the UK.

In December, P&G said

it would buy Sara Lee's Ambi Pur air freshener brand

for euro 320 million, or $470 million, and that it expected the deal to close in its fiscal year ending June 30, 2010. P&G said the acquisition would strengthen P&G's global leadership in home care and, specifically, air care.

P&G stock is up 0.5% at $63.90 in Wednesday trading, while Sara Lee is flat at $14.

-- Reported by Andrea Tse in New York

RELATED STORIES:

>> P&G Drops $470M for a Sara Lee Brand

Follow TheStreet.com on

Twitter

and become a fan on

Facebook.