Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Vivarte, whose brands include Kookai, La Halle, Caroll, Minelli and Chevignon, has been owned since 2014 by a group led by investment funds Alcentra, Babson, Oaktree and GLG Partners.

The company, whose profits and sales have fallen amid competition from larger clothing retail chains such as H&M, Kiabi and Primark, has been trying to restructure its business for several years.

Pataugas had last reported annual sales of 14 million euros.

(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Matthias Blamont)