Shortlist of candidates invited to conduct due diligence in Polmos Poznan

Potential investors in the vodka distiller Polmos Poznan are to commence due diligence in the company within two weeks. Those on the shortlist are Pernod Ricard, Unicom Bols, and a consortium of Eckes and Vin & Spirit. The final sale is expected in the first quarter of next year. According to a privatization strategy prepared by EVIP International, the buyer would have to pay not only for the local brand name of Wyborowa, but also the right to export the product. The transaction, however, may not be a success unless the Constitutional Tribunal rules in the ongoing legal battle to deny Agros rights to the Wyborowa brand name abroad. " The Tribunal should decide fast, since any continued dilly-dallying could hamper the privatization of the spirit industry," commented EVIP International legal adviser Dariusz Wit vel Wilk. The value of the transaction is not known, but those familiar with the issue assert the potential investor could pay up to $100 million, since that was the approximate book value (zl. 400 million) of the firm at the close of 1999. Polmos Poznan is the seventh or eighth largest vodka producer on the domestic market. The Wyborowa brand also accounts for about 80% of Agros exports, valued at $10 million-$12 million per year. (Puls Biznesu, page 8)