Bloomberg has reported that Centurium Capital Partners is in advanced talks to acquire Nestlé’s Blue Bottle Coffee, citing people familiar with the matter.

According to the report, the private equity firm – which previously backed the turnaround of Chinese coffee chain Luckin Coffee – is finalising details of a potential deal for the speciality coffee roaster and retailer.

Late last year, Nestlé announced that it was reportedly exploring the sale of Blue Bottle Coffee, as part of a broader strategic review initiated by new CEO Philipp Navratil.

The sources, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private, said an agreement could be reached soon, although negotiations are still ongoing and a transaction is not guaranteed.

Blue Bottle Coffee was founded in Oakland, California, in 2002 and currently operates cafés across the US, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and South Korea. Nestlé acquired a 68% stake in the company in 2017 for approximately $425 million.

Luckin Coffee, established in 2017, operates around 31,000 stores, making it the largest coffee chain in China.

Refreshment has contacted Centurium for a comment.