Debt-laden Vivarte sells clothes group Kookai to Australia's Magi

Private-equity backed French clothing retailer Vivarte, which is aiming to restructure more than 1.3 billion euros (0.77 billion pounds)of debt, has agreed to offload its Kookai brand to Australian company Magi as part of Vivarte's ongoing sell-off programme.

The sale of Kookai, announced by Vivarte on Tuesday, comes two months after it struck a similar deal to sell its Pataugas shoe brand to Hopps Group.

The financial terms of the sale of Kookai, which last reported annual revenue of 76 million euros, were not disclosed.

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Family-owned company Magi had 2016 sales of 105 million Australian dollars ($80 million), and Magi already operates 39 Kookai stores in Australia.

Vivarte has been owned since 2014 by a group led by investment funds Alcentra, Babson, Oaktree and GLG Partners.

Vivarte's profits and sales have fallen amid competition from larger clothing retail chains such as H&M , Kiabi and Primark, leading to the company's decision to restructure its business in order to improve its financial fortunes.