France’s Pernod Ricard won a battle in March to buy V&S, the Swedish state-owned maker of Absolut Vodka, beating out Fortune, which produces Jim Beam bourbon and owns the rest of wine and spirits company Beam Global.
The 5.6 billion euro ($8.8 billion) Pernod deal did not include V&S’s stake in Beam.
Fortune had been looking to exercise a clause allowing it to buy the V&S stake, although the sides had been unable to agree on a price.
Financial Markets Minister Mats Odell said in a statement that the government had now earned a total 58 billion kronor for the assets of V&S, which will go toward paying off national debt.
Sweden is in the midst of its largest-ever privatization of state assets, an effort the government hopes, will net 200 billion kronor over the course of its four-year mandate.
Pernod said on Wednesday it had closed the V&S acquisition.
“It (the Beam deal) is a good deal … We are very pleased with it,” Odell spokesperson Sarah Lundgren said.