Vin & Spirit to buy Luksusowa brand vodka producer

Swedish alcoholic beverages group Vin & Sprit, producer of Absolut Vodka, yesterday agreed to buy Poland's third-largest vodka producer, Polmos Zielona Gora, for zl. 129 million ($34 million). The purchase of an 85% stake from the state treasury should help the Swedish state-owned group strengthen its position on global markets and gain a foothold in Central Europe's largest country. Zielona Gora, which makes the Luksusowa brand potato-vodka in addition to the usual grain-distilled variety, has 10% of the Polish market and annual sales of around zl. 500 million. Vin & Sprit, which pledged to invest a further zl. 11 million in the firm over three years, seeks to become one of the world's top five liquor groups within five years. "We are very happy with this deal. Our joint strategy will be to strengthen the position of the Luksusowa brand in Western Europe and conquer new markets in other parts of the world," said Zielona Gora head Ryszard Jakubiuk. (Reuters) A.Z.