Limited Brands (Victoria’s Secret) Spin-off Notes

July 15, 2022 Update

VIC: Short report on Victoria’s Secret (Free Account Needed)

– I don’t have a strong view

May 14, 2021 Update

L Brands, Inc. (LB), announced Tuesday its plans to spin off  their Victoria’s Secret brand rather than sell it. Creating two separate publicly traded companies in Bath & Body Works and Victoria’s Secret.

Bath & Body Works, one of the world’s leading bath, body and home fragrance retailers, with more than 2,000 stores in operation globally and online.

Victoria’s Secret, including Victoria’s Secret Lingerie, PINK and Victoria’s Secret Beauty, a leading retailer of intimates and beauty products, which is also sold globally at just under 1,400 retail locations, as well as online. 

The company expects to create these companies through a tax-free spin-off of Victoria’s Secret to L Brands’ shareholders. The separation is expected to close sometime in August. 

This announcement comes after efforts from L Brands to sell Victoria’s Secret last year to a the PE firm, Sycamore Partners, with the deal falling apart due to the Covid pandemic. Regardless of the failed deal, over the last year we have seen an extremely strong year for L Brands, as stimulus payments and relaxed Covid restrictions helped boost shopper traffic. L Brands said the split will allow both brands to continue to build on this newfound momentum. As separate entities, each brand will be able to maximize management focus and financial flexibility in order to thrive in an evolving retail environment and deliver profitable growth.