Sara Lee tried to unload its household and personal-care unit but has dropped the idea for now after talking with bankers, according to a report by mergermarket, reprinted in the Financial Times.

There were two possible reasons for halting the effort, the report said: "Decrepit financial markets" or "because Sara Lee got cold feet about turning itself into a food-only company."

Assuming that the report—which is based on interviews with unnamed "persons claiming knowledge of the situation"—is accurate, it seems likely that Sara Lee simply couldn't find a suitable buyer for the unit, which is made up mostly of non-U.S. brands. A couple of overseas companies have been mentioned as possible buyers, as has Colgate-Palmolive. But all the companies floated are either unlikely to come up with a suitable offer or are interested only in buying pieces of the unit.

The mergermarket report notes that Sara Lee's stock has sagged since Brenda Barnes became CEO in 2004. "If Sara Lee ultimately chooses to sell the business," the article concludes, "it could get a fairly high multiple for it; perhaps higher than where the company's own stock trades at the moment."

But there is some basis for believing that Sara Lee simply might not want to let go of the unit yet. The company does want to concentrate on its core food business, but the household and personal-care unit is growing. Net income increased by 16 percent for the year ending in June. It is the company's fastest-growing unit in terms of volume growth. Revenues are growing faster among food products, but that is due mostly to price hikes—which may halt or reverse themselves if commodity costs continue to decline.