The FINANCIAL -- Ukraine 's Nemiroff vodka company, one of the leading global producers of spirits, is considering selling a majority stake to a strategic investor, a respected Russian business newspaper reported on February 3.

Kommersant cited the company's investment memorandum dispatched to potential buyers by the Kiev office of ING Bank in its report.

Nemiroff, the world's third largest company in terms of vodka sales, is estimated to be worth more than $300 million. The Central European Distribution Corporation (CEDC), which already has the largest share of the Russian vodka production market, is viewed as a potential buyer of Nemiroff, Kommersant reported.

"CEDC already met with the Nemiroff management to discuss the possibility of participation in the Ukrainian company, but no specific accords were reached. CEDC could take part in this deal, but would like to get 100% control of Nemiroff," a top manager of an alcohol company told the paper.

Sources close to Nemiroff told the paper that only two out of the company's three beneficiaries were willing to sell the business, according to RIA Novosti.

The third beneficiary, Stepan Glus, the company's founder and chairman of its board of directors, with a 30% stake in Nemiroff, told the paper that the company was not slated for sale for the time being but was prepared to consider attracting an investor for development at a global level.

Nemiroff, which was founded in 1992, saw its net sales fall 14% in 2009 to $217.6 million and net profit 50% to $38.3 million. The company's debt stood at $10.5 million in 2009.

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