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TOKYO: Suntory Holdings Ltd is in talks to buy European drinkmaker Orangina from Blackstone Group LP and Lion Capital Holdings Inc as Japan's third-largest brewer expands outside a shrinking domestic market.

The purchase, for more than $2.6 billion, could be agreed as soon as this week, according to a person familiar with the talks who declined to be identified. Christine Anderson, a Blackstone spokeswoman in New York, declined to comment. Suntory is in discussions to buy Orangina, spokeswoman Aya Takemoto said, declining to comment further.

Buying the European drinks business previously owned by Cadbury Schweppes Plc would give Suntory the Oasis, Schweppes and other brands that have sales of about 1 billion euros ($1.46 billion) in the region. Suntory, which is also in talks to merge with Japan's biggest brewer Kirin Holdings Co, is expanding abroad as the country's beer sales fall and the yen gains.

"Purchasing Orangina would be a stepping stone to further development in global markets, including Europe," Shigeo Kikuchi, an equity manager at Takagi Securities Co, said in a phone interview. "Japan's beverage industry is saturated and companies need to look for overseas markets to grow so the move is inevitable."

（英語點津 Helen 編輯）

About the broadcaster:

Chantal Anderson is a multimedia journalist at the China Daily Web site. Originally from Seattle, Washington she has found her way around the world doing photo essays in Greece, Mexico and Thailand. She is currently completing a double degree in Journalism and International Studies from the University of Washington.