Stoli lined up for bidding war

Stolichnaya - the Russian vodka brand - could be subject to a bidding war resulting in a possible billion-dollar deal.
The news comes hot on the heels of Pernod Ricard's takeover of Swedish maker Absolut.

Industry analysts have now tipped Bacardi-Martin, Campari, and Brown-Forman as suitors for Stolichnaya - also known as ‘Stoli'.

It is understood that Lehman Brothers has been hired to explore options that could lead to the sale of the brand and its distribution rights. A figure of £1.5bn is being touted.

Pernod Ricard, the French spirits giant has agreed to stop distributing Stoli, an SPI brand, following its £3.5bn acquisition of Absolut.

Pernod took on the distribution rights of Stoli after it bought Allied Domecq in 2005 and had been in talks for an extension of that agreement.

But talks collapsed after the Absolut acquisition.

The UK is Stoli's third biggest export market, behind USA and Greece.

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