Giant Manila-based brewer San Miguel and a Japanese partner are buying majority control of Australian family-owned Cospak, a packaging company with a plastics manufacturing unit in Auckland.

The $A50 million deal will give San Miguel Yamamura Packaging International a 65% stake in Cospak, which owns the Premier Plastics Group in East Tamaki as well as a Cospak sales operation.

Japanese brewer Kirin has approached Lion Nathan’s board with an offer to buy out the remaining shares in the company, a deal that will almost certainly go ahead bar some bad faith negotiations, or a shareholder revolt.

Lion Nathan and Kirin have both confirmed that negotiations are under way for Kirin to buy the remaining 56% of the company, and a trading halt was issued on both the ASX and NZX until Monday.