Sara Lee Moving HQ to Chicago

Chicago will soon be home to another corporate headquarters. Sara Lee announced Thursday it will relocate from the western suburbs to downtown Chicago.

Sara Lee is in the midst of some big changes as a company.

It's scheduled to split into two next year - one company will focus on meats, the other on drinks.

It's the meats company that will call Chicago's West Loop neighborhood home in 2013.

"We would need, as a smaller, more entrepreneurial company, we need to create a lot of buzz and it's very difficult to get that buzz and energy in an area where it's very quiet, so I think we need that environment of Chicago," said Jan Bennink, the executive chairman of Sara Lee.

Bennink said about 500 employees will be shifted from Downers Grove to Chicago.

Meanwhile, Mayor Rahm Emanuel said the city will give up to 6.5 million dollars to Sara Lee for moving downtown. Emanuel said he's not in a battle with the suburbs to persuade businesses to move to the city - but he did say - "We won."

(AP Photo/M. Spencer Green, file)