The deal, if consummated, would be the latest effort by Anheuser-Busch InBev to sell some parts of SABMiller as it seeks to persuade regulators to approve their nearly $US103 billion merger.

SABMiller said Wednesday that the binding offer would apply to the brands and operations of Royal Dutch Grolsch, Birra Peroni, Miller Brands UK, the Meantime Brewing Co. and SABMiller's sales and marketing office in France. SABMiller bought Meantime in May. The deal would not include the rights for the Peroni and Grolsch brands in the United States; those rights belong to MillerCoors.

The combination of Anheuser-Busch InBev and SABMiller would create a beer industry giant with annual revenue of about $US64 billion and would give Anheuser-Busch InBev, already the world's largest brewer, a substantial operation in Africa, where it has little presence, and greater dominance in Latin America.

In hopes of appeasing regulators, SABMiller has already agreed to sell its 59 per cent stake in MillerCoors in the United States to its joint venture partner Molson Coors Brewing for about $US12 billion. That deal includes the global rights to the Miller brand and would make Molson Coors the second-largest brewer in the United States, behind Anheuser-Busch InBev.

Both the MillerCoors and Asahi transactions would be contingent on regulators signing off on the larger deal.

"We are pleased to have received this binding offer from Asahi on the Peroni, Grolsch and Meantime brands and businesses - iconic beer brands with longstanding heritage and leading positions in core markets," Carlos Brito, the Anheuser-Busch InBev chief executive, said in a news release.

Anheuser-Busch InBev has agreed to a period of exclusivity with Asahi in respect of these brands and businesses while employee information and consultation processes are undertaken as part of a potential sale.

In December, Anheuser-Busch InBev said it was exploring the sale of several of SABMiller's premium brands in Europe, including Peroni and Grolsch, in the hope of easing regulatory concerns.

Anheuser-Busch InBev and SABMiller reached an agreement in principle on October 13 to merge and completed their negotiations in November, with SABMiller's board recommending that shareholders accept the deal.

In that deal, Anheuser-Busch InBev is offering to pay £44, or about $89.95, a share in cash for SABMiller.

Anheuser-Busch InBev has tackled similar regulatory issues before.

It was forced to restructure its $US20.1 billion takeover of Grupo Modelo of Mexico in 2013 after the Justice Department sued to block the deal.

Among the concessions in that deal, Anheuser-Busch InBev agreed to sell the rights to Corona beer and other Grupo Modelo brands in the United States to Constellation Brands, one of the world's largest wine companies, for $US2.9 billion.

The New York Times