BWG, the franchise holder for Spar convenience shops in the Republic, is unlikely to be split up when it is sold later this year, according to the joint managing director of Pernod Ricard.
Mr Richard Burrows said the group would most probably be sold as a unit, despite reports to the contrary.
The French drinks group - which owns BWG through Irish Distillers - is selling the company to meet its $3.15 billion (€3.53 billion) bill for parts of Seagram's wine and spirits business. The Irish company, which also has the Mace franchise in Northern Ireland and operations in England and Spain, is valued at more than €300 million (£236 million).
Mr Burrows played down speculation that the group would be split up along regional lines and sold separately. There have been many expressions of interest, from a mixture of trade and financial buyers, since the sale was announced last December, Mr Burrows told The Irish Times. The potential buyers are from Ireland, the UK and Europe.
A break-up of the business could not be ruled out but "three out of every four expressions of interest are for BWG as a single entity", said Mr Burrows.
Pernod Ricard's aim was to get the highest possible return for the company's shareholders and this could best be done by selling it as one concern, he said.
It was also in the interest of the company's 1,100 staff, he added. BWG is worth more than the sum of its parts for a number of reasons, according to Mr Burrows. "In wholesale distribution size is important. Size means negotiating power," he said.
By breaking up the group Pernod Ricard also runs the risk of getting a good price for some parts, but being forced to accept poor prices for other bits. Mr Burrows accepted that the firm could not prevent the new owner of BWG breaking it up.
Societe General is currently working on an information memorandum which will be given to interested parties at the end of the month.
Mr Burrows would not say what valuation the French merchant bank had put on the business.
He was hopeful the sale process would be completed over the summer, he added.
BWG had sales of €1.26 billion last year, an increase of 29 per cent on the previous year. Profits rose 27 per cent during the period. The improvement was achieved against the background of a contraction in margins from 3.7 per cent to 3.5 per cent.
The Irish distribution company is being sold to fund Pernod Ricard's part of a deal which will see the French company combine with Diageo to buy the wine and spirits business of Seagram for $81.5 billion. Pernod Ricard is also proposing to sell Orangina, its orange soft drink unit that includes Pampryl fruit juices.
Orangina could fetch €800 million while the company's 1.3 per cent stake in Societe Generale could be worth €300 million.
Oddbins, the off-licence chain that operates in Britain and Ireland may also be sold.
