Unilever Seeks Buyer for Bestfoods Unit

Unilever, the biggest maker of food and soap products, said it’s seeking buyers for the U.S. baked-goods unit of Bestfoods because it doesn’t fit with its other existing businesses. The division, acquired with the $24-billion purchase of Bestfoods, had sales of $1.7 billion last year, Unilever said. The company expects a transaction to be announced within the first half of next year, a spokesman said. Unilever’s American depositary receipts closed up 44 cents at $27.38 on the New York Stock Exchange.