While details of the price of the deal have not been disclosed, Arena was valued at around $400 million (£244 million/€293 million) by Bloomberg in December 2013.

Arena was founded by Horst Dassler - son of Adidas founder Adolf Dassler – in 1973 and has been one of the leading manufacturers and suppliers of swimwear since.

The company launched its Skinfit swimwear line that year which was designed to act like a "second skin" for swimmers and weighed only 18 grams.

Since then Arena has been responsible for a number of technological advancements in the design of swimwear in an effort to help its swimmers remain at the forefront of international competition including the Flyback swimsuit in the 1980s, Aquaracer in the 1990s, while it launched its full body swimsuits in the 2000s called Powerskin and Powerskin X-Treme.

"As a global champion in its niche, Arena perfectly fits the Capvis investment strategy," said Andreas Simon of Capvis.

"Propelled by innovation and uncompromising commitment to the sport of swimming and the brand visibility powering its surge worldwide, Arena is uniquely positioned in one of the most popular sports categories.

"Arena's brand equity, validated from premier teams and organisations, offers significant value creation potential.

"We have followed the company and its management for years and are thrilled to power off the blocks with them, in the true sense of the word."

London 2012 bronze medallist László Cseh is one of the leading current swimmers to wear Arena swimwear and equipment ©AFP/Getty Images