Germany's Schwarz Pharma is in talks to be taken over by Belgian drugmaker UCB , Schwarz Pharma said late on Sunday.

"Schwarz Pharma AG is in negotiations with UCB S.A., Brussels concerning a business combination of both companies by an offer to all shareholders of Schwarz Pharma AG," it said in a statement.

"A finalisation of these talks is expected in near-term."

A source familiar with the situation told Reuters late on Friday that the Schwarz-Schuette family that owns Schwarz Pharma had started a process to sell their approximate 60-percent stake in the company.

The source said that talks had been started some weeks ago. A second source said a decision on a possible sale was nearing.

The Schwarz-Schuette family expect a price of around 4 billion euros ($5.1 billion), the first source said.