Downing Peroni and Grolsch has not quenched Asahi's thirst it seems.

The Japanese brewing giant is weighing a £5bn bid for some of SABMiller’s eastern European beer brands, including Pilsner Urquell.

Earlier this year Asahi picked up Peroni, Grolsch, and London's Meantime for almost £2bn after AB InBev put them up for sale following its successful takeover attempt of SABMiller – in a deal dubbed Megabrew.

The sale of Peroni and Grolsch were mandated by the European competition regulator and the watchdog has since waved the deal through.

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Last week the South African regulator provisionally approved the £71bn deal, though the US competition regulator still needs to sign off on the deal.

AB-InBev, the owner of Budweiser and Stella Artois, needs to sell SAB’s eastern European beers within six months of closing its deal for SAB to avoid falling foul of Brussels competition rules.

Asahi has hired investment bank Rothschild to explore the move for SAB’s eastern European beer brands, it was first reported by the Sunday Times.

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AB InBev and SABMiller declined to comment. Asahi could not be reached before publication.