Four bidders go through in Vin & Sprit auction: paper

(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.

The four selected bidders -- Fortune Brands Inc (FO.N: Quote, Profile, Research), Pernod Ricard SA (PERP.PA: Quote, Profile, Research), Bacardi and private equity group EQT in cooperation with investment firm Investor AB (INVEb.ST: Quote, Profile, Research) -- 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: Quote, Profile, Research), Nordea Bank AB (NDA.ST: Quote, Profile, Research), mortgage lender SBAB SBAB.UL and real estate firm Vasakronan ABVASA.UL.

 

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