Intimate Brands,
parent company of cataloger/retailers Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works, has recommended that shareholders accept The Limited’s $1.56 billion offer to buy back the shares it spun off in 1995.
Columbus, OH-based Intimate Brands said on March 12 that a three-member committee made the recommendation. Each Intimate Brands share would be exchanged for 1.1 Limited shares, a 5% increase from the original offer of 1.046 shares. The offer expires March 20.
Intimate Brands said the offer represents a 12% premium based on the closing prices of both stocks on Feb. 4, the day the Limited announced the offer. The Limited, which is also based in Columbus, already owns 84% of Intimate Brands. It has said its offer to buy back the shares is part of a plan to simplify operations and focus on a few brands. The Limited owns retail chains Express, Lerner New York, Limited Stores, Structure, and Henri Bendel.