PZ Cussons to bid for Sara Lee ops -paper

LONDON, April 12 (Reuters) - Britain's PZ Cussons (PZC.L: Quote, Profile, Research) has joined the shortlist of bidders for the European household and personal care business of U.S. consumer goods group Sara Lee (SLE.N: Quote, Profile, Research), the Sunday Times reported without citing sources.

The newspaper said PZ Cussons, the maker of Imperial Leather soaps, joins larger rivals Reckitt Benckiser (RB.L: Quote, Profile, Research), Unilever (UNc.AS: Quote, Profile, Research) (ULVR.L: Quote, Profile, Research), Colgate-Palmolive (CL.N: Quote, Profile, Research) on the shortlist.

Sara Lee has put a price tag of between $3 billion and $3.5 billion on the business, which includes brands such as Kiwi shoe polish, Brylcream hair styling products and Sanex deodorant, the paper said.

PZ Cussons, was not immediately available for comment. A spokesman for Sara Lee in Europe said it was not company policy to comment on media speculation. (Reporting by Victoria Bryan; editing by Mike Nesbit)