PAI, the French private equity house, is poised to buy Vivarté, the quoted French retailer chaired by Nathaniel Rothschild, in a deal worth in excess of €1bn ($1.27bn).

A source close to the deal said that the core shareholders in Vivarté, which owns the Kookai clothing company and was previously known as Group Andre, will enter exclusive negotiations with PAI in the next few days.