French luxury brand giant LVMH Group is believed to be close to finalising a deal to purchase local clothing and footwear retailer, R.M Williams.

Singapore-based private equity firm L Capital, a company backed by LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, is reportedly about to buy a majority stake of about 55 per cent in R.M Williams, with the current owner, former News Limited CEO Ken Cowley, to retain the balance, reports The Australian.

“We don’t have any announcement to make at this stage,” an RM Williams spokeswoman told the newspaper.

According to media reports, L Capital will make a capital injection of about $50 million to help fund growth initiatives.

The iconic  80 year old brand was confirmed to be up for sale last month and at the time, said it was “exploring external growth and expansion plans”.