Morgan Stanley organises sale of Absolut

Swedish Financial Markets Minister Mats Odell wants investment bank Morgan Stanley to examine a wide range of options for the sale of state-owned Absolut vodka maker Vin & Sprit.

At the end of June Morgan Stanley was charged with organising the sale of the 90-year-old wine and spirits company, which is expected by analysts to fetch between USD 5 billion and USD 6 billion. “This phase of the analysis is in progress and Morgan Stanley has an open mandate to look at different routes to reduce the state’s ownership in Vin & Sprit,” Odell was quoted as saying.

A week earlier Sweden’s parliament had passed a bill allowing the centre-right government to sell Vin & Sprit, real estate firm Vasakronan and mortgage lender SBAB.

Parliament has given the government carte blanche on how to conduct Sweden’s biggest-ever privatisation, which is aimed at raising 150 billion Swedish crowns (USD 21.75 billion) over three years to reduce debt.

Options could include stock exchange listings or trade sales of all or parts of firms.

A listing of Vin & Sprit would cross takeover plans by Pernod Ricard or Fortune Brands, who have already expressed interest in the Swedish distiller to gain a global brand. Absolut is the second-most popular vodka in the U.S. behind Diageo’s Smirnoff, and both Diageo and Bacardi Ltd. have also said they may consider a bid for V&S.

Odell declined to comment on a specific timing of the Vin & Sprit disposal.