Pernod Ricard and Diageo are increasingly seen as the strongest candidates to buy the Seagram booze business. If so, analysts believe that Pernod - whose targets in the Seagram portfolio are brands like Martell cognac, Chivas Regal scotch, Seagrams gin and other smaller brands - will then be faced with a bill of €5.5 billion.

Even for a company the size of Pernod, that's a hefty weight on the balance sheet and analysts at Merrill Lynch believe that the French group - now co-headed by former Irish Distillers boss Richard Burrows - will have to sell non-core assets to reduce the level of debt.

Irish Distillers is safe from any disposal programme but Merrill Lynch believes that as well as selling the Orangina soft drink business, Pernod may also sell the BWG distribution business in Ireland and the UK.

BWG - which has the Mace franchise in Leinster and Northern Ireland, the Spar franchise in the Republic, Spar operations in southern England and a distribution business - has sales in the order of £500 million.

Even with the lowish margins in the convenience store business, that would mean a hefty price tag if it comes on the market.