UPDATE 1-Nordzucker offers Danisco Sugar stake to farmers

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By Teis Jensen

COPENHAGEN, July 4 (Reuters) - German sugar refiner Nordzucker said on Friday it was ready to sell a stake in the sugar arm of Danish ingredients group Danisco (DCO.CO: Quote, Profile, Research) to Swedish and Danish farmers if its bid succeeds.

Nordzucker, Germany's second-largest sugar refiner, said last month it was planning a bid for Danisco sugar and was considering spending 700 million to 1 billion euros on the deal.

Otto von Arnold, chairman of the Swedish beet growers association, told Reuters the Danish and Swedish growers were in talks with Nordzucker over a bid.

When asked if the price for the division could be between 5 and 7 billion Danish crowns ($1.07 billion - $1.49 billion), Von Arnold said: "That is probably at the high end, but if Danisco has good possibilities of return then it's not an unreasonable level."

Asked if the price could be below 5 billion Danish crowns he said: "Yes, it's not impossible."

But a Nordzucker spokesman in Germany said it had made a bid on its own for the business and would not make a joint bid with the Swedish and Danish farmers.