Alberto-Culver sells Swedish unit

Alberto-Culver Inc. said Monday that it has agreed to sell its Sweden-based Cederroth International business to a private-equity concern, in a move the Melrose Park-based hair and beauty care product maker said will allow it to better focus on its core operations.

Alberto didn't disclose the sale price it will receive for Cederroth, a Stockholm company which it acquired in the early 1990s. The Swedish concern makes a variety of consumer products, mostly sold in the Nordic region of Europe, and Alberto-Culver said only a portion of its brands compete with the U.S. company's products.