V&S Vin & Sprit up for sale

The Swedish government has confirmed its willingness to sell the government owned wine and spirits importer and producer V&S Vin & Sprit. Many suitors are expected, not least because Vin & Sprit owns one of the world’s leading vodka brands, Absolut. Speculations include Diageo, Pernod Ricard, Fortune Brands, and even the Finnish state owned Altia Corporation. The price tag is estimated to around $5-6 billion. Well, it’s high time that the Swedish government gets out of the business of producing and selling spirits to the international market - often in blatant conflict with Swedish public health policies.