Private equity firm Bain Capital LLC is set to purchase a 50 percent stake in casual footwear maker Toms Shoes Inc.

The Los Angeles-based company was founded by Blake Mycoskie in 2006 and is known for selling slip-on shoes styled after the Argentine alpargatas. The company also makes sandals, flats and lace-up shoes.

Mycoskie, previously the sole owner of Toms, will own the other half of the company and remain on board as chief executive.

Bain, which recently acquired a majority stake in outerwear company Canada Goose, acquired Toms via auction. The Boston sponsor says it will expand Toms' One for One business program, which promises that with every pair of shoes purchased another pair of new shoes will be given to needy children abroad.

But shoes aren't the only iteration for Mycoskie. The entrepreneur, who is also a former contestant on U.S. reality TV show "The Amazing Race," created Toms Roasting Co., a coffee shop in Austin, Texas, earlier this year. The shop promises to donate a week's worth of clean water to a person in need for every bag of coffee sold.

Toms is the latest in a series of retail deals as private equity continues to pounce on popular clothing companies. Sycamore Partners LLC, for example, is reportedly selling Stuart Weitzman, a shoemaking brand that it acquired through Jones Group Inc., the owner of the Nine West.

Other recent deals in the space include Steve Madden's acquiring Dolce Vita and Brian Atwood, and a stake purchase by DSW Inc. (NYSE: DSW) of Canadian retailer Town Shoes.

For more retail coverage, see "Time-Tested Brands Sell."