Heineken is in discussions with the Japanese group Kirin about the purchase of its Brazilian beer business. A deal with Heineken would be worth around $870m, according to the Japanese business title Nikkei. Kirin’s Brazilian beer business spans 12 breweries and was created in 2011 when Kirin paid $1.97bn for Brazil’s Schincariol brand.

The Dutch brewer confirmed it was in talks about “a potential transaction in respect of Brazil Kirin” but said “there can be no certainty that an agreement will be reached”.

The move comes as Heineken looks to make a major push beyond its core European market and counter the creation of a new beer giant following the tie-up between SABMiller by Anheuser-Busch InBev.

Brazil is the third biggest market in the world, but sales of beer have fallen off amid the Brazilian economy enduring a difficult time. 

Economic struggles are thought to be the reason that Kirin is considering a sale of its Brazilian business.

By acquiring the business, Heineken would become the number two player in Brazil, wher AB InBev has around two-thirds of the market.

Kirin, whose flagship beer is Schin, said that it was “reviewing all options”.

It was previously reported that Kirin was talking to a number of companies about a possible sale of its underperforming Brazilian beer business.

According to its latest financial figures, beer sales were up two percent by volume in Q3 at Heineken, with the Asia Pacific region the outstanding performer in the quarter.

The two percent uplift in volume in Q3 beat the previous quarter uplift of 1.8 percent and was ahead of analysts’ expectations.