With the Buffalo Bills inching closer to being put on the market, Pabst Brewing Company owner C. Dean Metropoulos has emerged as a potential bidder.

Metropoulos' son, Daren, confirmed his family's interest in the team to ESPN.

"An NFL team is of serious interest to my family and we love the Bills brand," Metropoulos said.

The family earlier released a statement to the Buffalo News through a spokesman.

"The Metropoulos family has a continued interest in acquiring an NFL franchise and expects to review any such opportunity," it read.

Reuters reported in March that C. Dean Metropoulos was looking to sell the brewery, which he purchased in 2010, and that the sale could fetch $500 million to $1 billion.

Metropoulos unsuccessfully bid for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2008. That team was later sold to Shad Khan in 2011.

Forbes estimates Metropoulos' net worth at $1.3 billion.

The Bills' financial and legal counsel are expected to begin contacting potential bidders later this month and the team is expected to have a new owner approved by early next year.

In related news Thursday, Buffalo television station WKBW reported, citing people familiar with the sale process, that Buffalo Sabres co-owners Terry and Kim Pegula are also preparing a bid to buy the Bills.

Former Sabres owner Tom Golisano and businessman Donald Trump have both publicly stated their interest in buying the Bills, while the Toronto Sun reported that rock star Jon Bon Jovi and Larry Tanenbaum, chairman of Toronto-based Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, will also bid on the team.

Mary Wilson, widow of former Bills owner Ralph Wilson, has served as controlling owner of the team since his death in March.

ESPN.com's Darren Rovell contributed to this report.