STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) — The government is stepping up efforts to sell liquor group Vin & Sprit AB — the maker of Absolut vodka — and expects to announce a deal next year, Financial Markets Minister Mats Odell said Tuesday.
Vin & Sprit was put up for sale by the center-right government earlier this year as part of a broader sale of state assets.
''We now finish the preparatory phase and begin a more active phase. A transaction is expected to be announced next year,'' Odell was quoted as saying by Swedish news agency TT.
He said potential buyers would be asked whether they wanted to take part in a bidding process.
Three of the world's top spirits makers — Pernod Ricard SA, Bacardi Ltd. and Diageo PLC — have signaled interest in Vin & Sprit. The sale price has been estimated at some 40 billion kronor ($6.3 billion).