Suntory Holdings has confirmed that it is in talks over acquiring Orangina, which was bought by private equity firms Blackstone Group and Lion Capital in 2006.
Details of how much it will pay or when the deal will be completed have not yet been released.
Orangina first appeared in 1936, and has always had international connections -- it was invented by a Spanish pharmacist, first made available at a French trade fair and initially launched in Algeria.
The brand has become well known for its advertising that urges drinkers to shake the bottle and "wake the fruit inside", a concept first introduced in 1972.
Its most recent advertising, '', created by French agency Fred & Farid Paris, ran in to trouble with viewers because of the supposedly sexy animals. Nonetheless, the Advertising Standards Authority chose not to investigate the complaints.
The brand, which still has its headquarters in France, was bought by drinks giant Pernod-Ricard in 1984, before being offloaded to Cadbury Schweppes in 2001.
Five years later it was sold to Blackstone and Lion in a £1.3bn deal, along with other Schweppes brands.
As well as the famous whiskey brand, Suntory distributes many well-known Western products in Japan, including Pepsi, Häagen Dazs and Campari.
The Wall Street Journal reports that a deal between Suntory and Orangina's owners could be reached this week.