Stockholm, Feb 17 - 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, Pernod Ricard SA, Bacardi and private equity group EQT in cooperation with investment firm Investor AB -- 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 finalising their offers.
Vin & Sprit is to be sold as part of Sweden's biggest-ever privatisation, which also includes stakes in telecom operator TeliaSonera AB, Nordea Bank AB, mortgage lender SBAB and real estate firm Vasakronan AB.
The government this week sold its entire holding of just under 7 percent of shares in bourse operator OMX AB which is set to be acquired by Borse Dubai as part of a broader agreement with U.S. exchange operator Nasdaq Stock Market Inc