Rumours sweeping the wholesaling industry that Irish distribution giant BWG had been sold are well wide of the mark, according to a source close to the deal. The company, which owns members of Key Lekkerland, and Spar distributor Appleby Westward in the UK, was put up for sale by Pernod Ricard to help pay for its joint purchase of Seagram. Two private equity groups, believed to be Electra Partners and ABN, are still involved in negotiations. An insider said the deal was taking longer than expected because the private equity groups did not have the understanding of the business that a trade buyer would, and needed to carry out intense due diligence work. He suggested that it would take several weeks before the deal was completed. {{NEWS }}

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