Pierre Pringuet, the deputy chairman and joint chief executive of Pernod Ricard, says the French group could raise and spend "a few billion euros" on the right acquisition, if one came along. Since the takeover of Vin &Sprit, which brought Absolut vodka into the portfolio in 2008, Pernod Ricard has focussed on reducing the ratio of its net debt to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation to below four.