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Bombardier begins selloff of recreational unit

MONTREAL, April 28 (Reuters) - Bombardier Inc. began the process on Monday to divest its recreational products business -- including the famous Ski-Doo snowmobile brand that built the transportation giant.

Bombardier said the recreational products division will be sold as a single entity as part of the major restructuring program it announced in early April when it unveiled a C$1 billion ($690 million) fourth-quarter loss, stemming in part from a slump in the aviation sector.

Montreal-based Bombardier, which is the world's No. 3 civilian aircraft maker and the biggest rail transportation manufacturer, said it had received numerous calls from interested parties but that it would not sell the unit to a rival company because of regulatory concerns.

"The business will not be sold to a direct competitor as this would require regulatory approvals, which may be impossible to obtain, or would result in unacceptable delays in closing a transaction," the company said in a statement.

Bombardier said the information memorandum will be sent out to interested parties in early May.

The Bombardier family is expected to be a minority partner in an unnamed investor group that would make a bid for the division.

As well as Ski-Doo snowmobiles, the unit includes Sea-Doo watercraft, Evinrude and Johnson outboard motors, and Bombardier all-terrain vehicles. It has annual sales of C$2.5 billion.

Bombardier's class B shares were up 3 Canadian cents at C$3.28 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Monday.