MILAN, Jan 28 (Reuters) -

Blue Pool, a Hong Kong-based investment firm backed by

Alibaba ( BABA ) co-founder Joe Tsai, has bought a 12% stake in Italian

luxury sneaker maker Golden Goose, the Venice-based brand said

on Tuesday.

The investment comes after the maker of $600 a pair sneakers

abruptly pulled plans for a stock market listing last year.

"Blue Pool's deep expertise in the sports, entertainment and

consumer industries, coupled with its deep knowledge of the Asia

Pacific market, will help the group further expand its reach,"

Golden Goose said in a statement.

No financial details were disclosed.

Blue Pool manages the assets of Tsai, who chair the

Chinese online retailer and co-founded it with Jack Ma, as well

as those of a group of families.

Oliver Weisberg, CEO of Blue Pool Capital, will join

Golden Goose's board.

Private equity firm Permira will retain a majority stake in

the company, the company said.

In June Golden Goose

unexpectedly halted

a proposed initial public offering (IPO) on the Milan

bourse, citing market volatility caused by political uncertainty

in Europe.

In November Golden Goose's CEO Silvio Campara said the

company was still

committed to an IPO

but would wait for the right market conditions to restart

the process.

Golden Goose said that the transaction with Blue Pool

was negotiated and agreed shortly after last year's decision to

postpone the IPO and was completed on Tuesday.