Dec 22 - Shares of Oxford Industries Inc rose as much as 24 percent a day after the apparel maker bought Sugartown Worldwide Inc, the owner of upscale women's brand Lilly Pulitzer.

Lilly Pulitzer in Boca Raton

Oxford Industries, whose businesses include Tommy Bahama, Ben Sherman, Lanier Clothes and Oxford apparel, has been making a push to own diversified lifestyle brands of late.

The company said it paid $60 million for Lilly Pulitzer, known for its preppy fashion.

The brand is expected to boost sales by more than $75 million in 2011 and earnings by more than 40 cents a share.

"We were not marketing the company when Oxford called us earlier this year," Jim Bradbeer, president of the Lilly Pulitzer Group, said in a statement.

Shares of Atlanta-based Oxford were trading up 22 percent at $27.03 on Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Reporting by Nivedita Bhattacahrjee and NR Sethuraman in Bangalore; Editing by Joyjeet Das)