Sweden's message in a bottle: Absolut is for sale

Selling V&S, however, might help dilute allegations about double standards in Sweden's nanny-state attitude on drinking. The Social Democrats were often criticized for promoting a restrictive alcohol policy at home, including bans on alcohol advertising in domestic media, while supporting multimillion dollar campaigns to market Absolut internationally since 1979.

Artists and designers such as Andy Warhol, Jean-Paul Gaultier and Gianni Versace have lent their talent to the bottle-focused ads that have appeared on billboards and magazines worldwide. Rock star Lenny Kravitz wrote a song specifically for an Absolut campaign.

With its range of flavors from peach to blackcurrant, Absolut is established as a luxury vodka _ a long journey from the first drops distilled from water and winter-wheat by Swedish entrepreneur Lars Olsson Smith in 1879.

V&S' product range includes other brands, such as Cruzan rum, Plymouth gin, a handful of Scandinavian aquavits and bitters and hundreds of wines. Absolut is believed to represent roughly half of the company's sales — $1.48 billion in 2006.

The biggest single market is the U.S., where Absolut is the top imported vodka. It's also growing quickly Brazil, Canada, Britain and Germany.

V&S Chief Executive Bengt Baron said a fair price for the company would be $5 billion to $6.4 billion. He declined to speculate on potential buyers.

"We want a long-term owner that shares our view of the future, which we are very optimistic about," Baron said.

Pierre Pringuet, chief executive of Pernod Ricard, has made no secret of his interest in V&S. But analysts say Fortune Brands is the prime candidate because of its distribution deal. V&S also holds a 10 percent stake in Jim Beam, the bourbon brand owned by Fortune Brands.

Absolut would also be an attractive addition to the company because "vodka, rum and gin categories are relatively weak for Fortune Brands," JP Morgan said in a research note.

Fortune Brands spokesman Clarkson Hine declined to comment on the V&S sale, but said the company was "extremely proud" of its partnership with V&S.

"We work very well together, our distribution joint ventures benefit both partners, and our close relationship has helped further build our respective brands," he wrote in an e-mail.

In any case, the new owner of V&S is likely to be an international liquor giant.

That did not concern bartender Daniel Lundberg, as he mixed a drink with Absolut's new pear flavor in a Stockholm hotel. Lundberg, 22, predicted a new owner would safeguard Absolut's Swedish identity.

"I don't think the brand will change just because it changes hands," he said. "It will still say 'Country of Sweden' on the bottle."

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