Dutch mail order company Wehkamp is to be bought by British investor Apax for €450m, according to sources in the Financieele Dagblad.

Wehkamp, which has developed into an online retailer, is currently owned by RFS Holland Holding, which also owns online gift retailer Fonq and Lacent, which manages financial products for Wehkamp.

Negotiations are nearing completion on the sale of all three RFS companies, the FD says.

Three years ago there was an attempt to sell RFS to two interested parties: supermarket group Ahold and internet retailer Bol.com. Those negotiations resulted in the takeover of Bol.com by Ahold.