LB - L Brands Agrees to Cancel Victoria's Secret Sale Citing Litigation Costs
Abandoning its efforts to salvage the deal through legal action, L Brands (NYSE: LB) said yesterday it agreed to terminate the sale of a controlling interest in Victoria's Secret. The acquisition, originally giving private equity firm Sycamore Partners a 55% stake in the lingerie brand, represented a chance for L Brands to divest Victoria's Secret in exchange for $525 million in cash.
Company statements describe the termination agreement as "mutual." Sycamore Partners emerges from the situation nearly unscathed, paying neither the original price agreed upon nor a termination fee. The private equity firm earlier claimed that L Brands' closure of Victoria's Secret stores during the COVID-19 outbreak damaged the brand's value and breached the terms of the sale.
Image source: L Brands.