L Catterton, the world’s biggest consumer-focused buyout firm, is in talks to buy a controlling stake in Brazilian high-end supermarket chain St Marché, which took on too much debt following an aggressive expansion, three people with direct knowledge of the talks said.

According to the people, five St Marché’s partners who hold as much as 70 percent of the chain are negotiating an all-cash deal with Greenwich, Connecticut-based L Catterton. The stake includes the 40 percent interest that they own in Eataly SRL’s Brazilian unit and an upscale grocery store, the people said.

Under terms of the deal, which are preliminary, L Catterton would pour around 200 million reais ($61 million) into St Marché and give the partners the right to increase their stakes gradually later, one of the people said. The money would go to help cut St Marché’s 260 million reais of debt, the people said.

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