CHICAGO (Reuters) - Fortune Brands Inc. <FO.N, which analysts say is a potential suitor for Absolut vodka owner Vin & Sprit, is looking at spirits acquisitions, a senior executive said on Wednesday.
"In the spirits category, we are interested in acquiring under the right set of circumstances, but we are not commenting on Absolut," said Fortune Chief Financial Officer Craig Omtvedt, speaking at the Reuters Food Summit in Chicago.
When asked whether Fortune could afford to purchase Vin & Sprit, whose value has been pegged as high as around $6 billion, Omtvedt replied: "We haven't had any constraints to date on what we want to do."
Last week, Sweden's center-right government asked parliament to back the sale of state-owned wine and spirits group Vin & Sprit but left options open as to when and how the sell-off could happen.
Fortune has a joint venture with Vin & Sprit called Future Brands LLC, which distributes Absolut in the United States, a market that makes up about 50 percent of its sales volume.
"Clearly if Absolut went away in terms of our joint venture relationship, there would be a near-term impact," Omtvedt said. "But it's not something that would take us down."
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