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Four bidders go through in Vin & Sprit auction: paper

STOCKHOLM
Sun Feb 17, 2008 6:24pm EST

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Empty bottles are washed on a production line at the Absolut bottling facility in Ahus in this photo taken July 17, 2007. Sweden's centre-right government has chosen four bidders in its auction of Vin & Sprit that will be allowed to perform due diligence of the Absolut vodka maker, business daily Dagens Industri reported on Sunday. REUTERS/Bob Strong

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Sweden's centre-right government has chosen four bidders in its auction of Vin & Sprit that will be allowed to perform due diligence of the Absolut vodka maker, business daily Dagens Industri reported on Sunday.

Stocks  |  Mergers & Acquisitions

The four selected bidders -- Fortune Brands Inc (FO.N), Pernod Ricard SA (PERP.PA), Bacardi and private equity group EQT in cooperation with investment firm Investor AB (INVEb.ST) -- have been widely seen as the front-runners to buy Vin & Sprit.

The newspaper, which did not disclose its sources, said the four bidders would proceed to more closely scrutinize Vin & Sprit in a due diligence process before finalizing their offers.

Vin & Sprit is to be sold as part of Sweden's biggest-ever privatization, which also includes stakes in telecom operator TeliaSonera AB (TLSN.ST), Nordea Bank AB (NDA.ST), mortgage lender SBAB SBAB.UL and real estate firm Vasakronan ABVASA.UL.

The government this week sold its entire holding of just under 7 percent of shares in bourse operator OMX AB OMX.ST which is set to be acquired by Borse Dubai as part of a broader agreement with U.S. exchange operator Nasdaq Stock Market Inc

(NDAQ.O).

(Reporting by Niklas Pollard; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
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