Victoria’s Secret is officially going solo.
On Friday, after many months of deliberating, parent company L Brands’ board approved the spin-off of the lingerie brand, which includes the Victoria’s Secret Lingerie, Victoria’s Secret Beauty and Pink divisions.
The move puts Victoria’s Secret on the New York Stock Exchange as a stand-alone firm, under the stock ticker “VSCO.” In addition, L Brands Inc. will soon become Bath & Body Works Inc., with the stock ticker going from “LB” to “BBWI.”
The changes are expected to take effect Aug. 2. L Brands’ common stock will begin trading under the new stock ticker the following day.
L Brands plans to distribute 100 percent of the shares of Victoria’s Secret to eligible shareholders of L Brands’ common stock after market close on Aug. 2, with L Brands stockholders receiving one share of Victoria’s Secret common stock for every three shares of L Brands common stock held at the close of business on the record date of July 22.
Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan are serving as financial advisers for the deal.
Victoria’s Secret has been hard at work over the last 18 months to revive the innerwear brand, which has been losing revenues and market share for at least three years prior to the pandemic.
After the deal to sell a majority stake of Victoria’s Secret to private equity firm Sycamore Partners fell through amid the pandemic, L Brands said it would separate the lingerie brand from the more lucrative Bath & Body Works brand.
“We believe Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works will achieve new levels of success and unlock significant value for all stakeholders by pursuing growth strategies best suited to each company’s customer base and strategic objectives,” Andrew Meslow, chief executive officer of L Brands, said last month.
Shares of L Brands, which closed up 2.97 percent to $73.50 apiece, are up more than 361 percent, year-over-year.
By: kellieaell
