STOCKS NEWS EUROPE-Bruce Willis helps Belvedere shine

Shares in France's Belvedere (BEVD.PA) jump more than 16 percent after the vodka and spirits group says American actor Bruce Willis wants to become a shareholder and invest financially in the company.

"(Bruce Willis) expressed his wish to become a shareholder of reference alongside its management and to be fully associated with the Group's marketing strategy," the company says in a statement on Monday.

The American film star, already the advertising face of the group's Sobieski vodka brand, will also be nominated as a member of the company's board of directors at the next general meeting of shareholders, the statement says.

The drink maker, which filed for protection from creditors in June 2008 to renegotiate its debt, is expecting a final ruling on the so-called safeguard procedure from a French court on Oct. 12.

By 1255 GMT, the volume on Belvedere shares already represents some 10 times the stock's 90-day average daily volume. At 36.43 euros, its market capitalisation is about 80 million euros.

For more on Belvedere, double click on [ID:nLL592525]

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