STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) - Nordic private equity firm Nordic Capital is joining some of the world's largest spirit makers in what is believed to be the final bidding round for Sweden's state-owned Absolut Vodka-maker Vin & Sprit AB, local media reported yesterday.

Citing unnamed sources, Swedish daily newspaper Svenska Dagbladet said Nordic Capital has teamed up with liquor group Fortune Brands ahead of a final and binding bid deadline today.

According to the paper, the plan is to divide the spirits company into two, where the private equity investor is after Vin & Sprit's (V&S) smaller Nordic distribution and production operations, V&S Distillers and V&S Wines, while Fortune Brands is after the company's golden egg: Absolut Vodka.

The two smaller units are expected to fetch a price-tag of between 4-8 billion kronor (425 million euros-850 million euros; $660 million-$1.3 billion), it said, and Absolut Vodka between 30-40 billion kronor (3.2 billion euros-4.2 billion euros; $5 billion-$6.5 billion).

The newspaper said other final bidders are likely to include Swedish investment group Investor AB - with its investment vehicle EQT - as well as Pernod Ricard SA of France and Bermuda-based Bacardi Ltd. - who is possibly teaming up with a partner.

Mia Widell, a spokeswoman for Financial Markets Minister Mats Odell, declined to comment on the bidding process, but said the government "remains confident that a signed agreement will be made in the first half of this year."

V&S was last year put up for sale by the government as part of a broader sell-out of state assets in a move to pay off the country's debt.

Other stakes on the sales list include banking group Nordea AB, telecom TeliaSonera AB, real estate company Vasakronan AB, mortgage lender SBAB and Nordic stock exchange operator OMX AB which was recently swept up in a complex deal by Borse Dubai and Nasdaq Stock Market Inc.