Sara Lee To Buy Back $500 Million In Shares (SLE, GS)

Sara Lee Corp. (NYSE: SLE) has entered into an agreement with Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS) to buy back $500 million of its shares on an accelerated basis, as it moves to use the funds from the sale of its household and body-care businesses.

This repurchase will reduce the company’s outstanding shares by around 36 million to 661 million, and is part of the company’s plan to buy back $2.5 to $3 billion in stock over the next three years.

Goldman is expected to repurchase the shares over time in the open market.

After this repurchase, Sara Lee expects its 2010 EPS to range between $1.02 and $1.07 compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02, according to Thomson Reuters.