L Brands Announces Commencement of Secondary Offering and the Repurchase of Its Common Stock

Rhea-AI Summary

L Brands, Inc. (NYSE: LB) announced a secondary offering of 20,041,646 shares by Leslie H. Wexner and affiliated sellers. L Brands will not receive proceeds from this sale. Following the offering, the company will repurchase 10,000,000 shares from a selling stockholder at the public offering price minus underwriting discounts, part of a newly authorized $1.5 billion repurchase program. This adjustment follows the company's earlier program from March 2021. After the offering and repurchase, the sellers will retain 5,000,000 shares.

Positive

• Share repurchase of 10,000,000 shares could enhance shareholder value.
• The $1.5 billion buyback program indicates management's confidence in future business performance.

Negative

• L Brands will not receive any proceeds from the secondary offering.
• Potential dilution of shares due to the large offering from Wexner and affiliates.

COLUMBUS, Ohio, July 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- L Brands, Inc. (“L Brands”) (NYSE: LB) announced today the commencement of an underwritten public secondary offering of 20,041,646 shares of its common stock (the “Offering”) by Leslie H. Wexner and certain affiliated selling stockholders (collectively, the “Selling Stockholders”). L Brands will not receive any proceeds from the sale of shares by the Selling Stockholders in the Offering.

L Brands also announced today that subject to and immediately following the closing of the Offering, L Brands has agreed to repurchase an aggregate of 10,000,000 shares of its common stock directly from one of the Selling Stockholders (the “Repurchase”). The price per share to be paid by L Brands will be equal to the public offering price in the Offering, less the underwriting discount. L Brands intends to fund the Repurchase with cash on hand. The Repurchase is part of the $1.5 billion share repurchase program announced earlier today, which replaced the prior share repurchase program authorized by the Board of Directors in March 2021.

Following the Offering and the Repurchase, the Selling Stockholders are expected to have disposed of all of their shares of L Brands’ common stock, other than 5,000,000 shares.

J.P. Morgan is acting as the sole book-running manager for the Offering.

The Offering will be made pursuant to L Brands’ existing effective shelf registration statement on Form S-3, including a base prospectus, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on January 29, 2019, and a related prospectus supplement for the Offering. Prospective investors should read the prospectus supplement and the base prospectus in that registration statement and other documents L Brands has filed or will file with the SEC for more complete information about L Brands and the Offering. You may obtain these documents for free by visiting EDGAR on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Alternatively, copies of the preliminary prospectus supplement and the accompanying base prospectus for the Offering may be obtained by contacting J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, New York 11717, by telephone at (866) 803-9204 or by email to prospectus-eq_fi@jpmchase.com.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of any offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

ABOUT L BRANDS:

L Brands, through Bath & Body Works, Victoria’s Secret and PINK, is an international company. The company operates 2,684 company-operated specialty stores in the United States, Canada and Greater China, in more than 700 franchised locations worldwide and through its websites worldwide.

Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

We caution that any forward-looking statements (as such term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) contained in this press release or made by our company or our management involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to change based on various factors, many of which are beyond our control. Accordingly, our future performance and financial results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in any such forward-looking statements. Words such as “estimate,” “project,” “plan,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “planned,” “potential” and any similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements. Risks associated with the following factors, among others, in some cases have affected and in the future could affect our financial performance and actual results and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements included in this press release or otherwise made by our company or our management:

• the spin-off of the Victoria’s Secret business (the “spin-off”) may not be consummated within the anticipated time period or at all;
• our business may be disrupted in connection with the proposed spin-off and we could lose revenue as a result of such disruption;
• the spin-off may not be tax-free for U.S. federal income tax purposes;
• a loss of synergies from separating the businesses that could negatively impact the balance sheet, profit margins or earnings of both businesses or that the companies resulting from the spin-off do not realize all of the expected benefits of the spin-off;
• the combined value of the common stock of the two publicly-traded companies will not be equal to or greater than the value of our common stock had the spin-off not occurred;
• general economic conditions, consumer confidence, consumer spending patterns and market disruptions including pandemics or significant health hazards, severe weather conditions, natural disasters, terrorist activities, financial crises, political crises or other major events, or the prospect of these events;
• the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic has had and is expected to continue to have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations;
• the seasonality of our business;
• divestitures or other dispositions, including a spin-off of Victoria’s Secret and related operations and contingent liabilities from businesses that we have divested;
• difficulties arising from turnover in company leadership or other key positions;
• our ability to attract, develop and retain qualified associates and manage labor-related costs;
• the dependence on mall traffic and the availability of suitable store locations on appropriate terms;
• our ability to grow through new store openings and existing store remodels and expansions;
• our ability to successfully operate and expand internationally and related risks;
• our independent franchise, license and wholesale partners;
• our direct channel businesses;
• our ability to protect our reputation and our brand images;
• our ability to attract customers with marketing, advertising and promotional programs;
• our ability to maintain, enforce and protect our trade names, trademarks and patents;
• the highly competitive nature of the retail industry and the segments in which we operate;
• consumer acceptance of our products and our ability to manage the life cycle of our brands, keep up with fashion trends, develop new merchandise and launch new product lines successfully;
• our ability to source, distribute and sell goods and materials on a global basis, including risks related to:
  • political instability, environmental hazards or natural disasters;
  • significant health hazards or pandemics, which could result in closed factories, reduced workforces, scarcity of raw materials, and scrutiny or embargoing of goods produced in infected areas;
  • duties, taxes and other charges;
  • legal and regulatory matters;
  • volatility in currency exchange rates;
  • local business practices and political issues;
  • potential delays or disruptions in shipping and transportation and related pricing impacts;
  • disruption due to labor disputes; and
  • changing expectations regarding product safety due to new legislation;
• our geographic concentration of vendor and distribution facilities in central Ohio;
• fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates;
• the ability of our vendors to deliver products in a timely manner, meet quality standards and comply with applicable laws and regulations;
• fluctuations in product input costs;
• our ability to adequately protect our assets from loss and theft;
• fluctuations in energy costs;
• increases in the costs of mailing, paper, printing or other order fulfillment logistics;
• claims arising from our self-insurance;
• our and our third-party service providers’ ability to implement and maintain information technology systems and to protect associated data;
• our ability to maintain the security of customer, associate, third-party and company information;
• stock price volatility;
• our ability to pay dividends and related effects;
• shareholder activism matters;
• our ability to maintain our credit rating;
• our ability to service or refinance our debt and maintain compliance with our restrictive covenants;
• our ability to comply with laws, regulations and technology platform rules or other obligations related to data privacy and security;
• our ability to comply with regulatory requirements;
• legal and compliance matters; and
• tax, trade and other regulatory matters.

We are not under any obligation and do not intend to make publicly available any update or other revisions to any of the forward-looking statements contained in this press release to reflect circumstances existing after the date of this press release or to reflect the occurrence of future events even if experience or future events make it clear that any expected results expressed or implied by those forward-looking statements will not be realized.

For further information, please contact:

L Brands:
Investor Relations		Media Relations
Amie Preston		Brooke Wilson
(614) 415-6704		(614) 415-6042
apreston@lb.com		communications@lb.com

FAQ

What is the purpose of L Brands' recent secondary offering of shares?

The secondary offering allows Leslie H. Wexner and affiliated sellers to sell 20,041,646 shares without L Brands receiving any proceeds.

How many shares is L Brands repurchasing and at what price?

L Brands is repurchasing 10,000,000 shares at the public offering price less underwriting discounts.

What is the total value of L Brands' new repurchase program?

The new share repurchase program is valued at $1.5 billion.

What will happen to the shares held by the selling stockholders after the offering?

After the offering and repurchase, the selling stockholders are expected to dispose of all but 5,000,000 shares of L Brands' common stock.

Who is managing the secondary offering for L Brands?

J.P. Morgan is acting as the sole book-running manager for the offering.