Amsterdam-based Heineken hopes to take a controlling stake in Kingway Brewery Holdings, the 12th-biggest brewer by sales in the mainland.
Heineken has been in talks with state-owned GDH, which holds 52.6 per cent of the Hong Kong-listed company, about a purchase, according to Kingway chief financial officer Nicholas Fung.
Heineken, the world's third-largest brewer, last year acquired a 21 per cent interest in Kingway for US$71.8 million.
'Heineken has shown interest in taking a controlling stake in our company since it first bought our shares,' Mr Fung said. 'We have had both formal and informal discussions.'
Veronique Schyns, a spokeswoman for the Dutch brewer, described the discussions as preliminary and declined to say further.
But Mr Fung was optimistic about the negotiations, saying GDH would probably consider any offer on purely commercial terms.
