L Brands Sells La Senza Lingerie to Private-Equity Firm

By Allison Prang 

Victoria's Secret parent L Brands Inc. is selling lingerie business La Senza to private-equity firm Regent LP, further slimming down the number of brands under its umbrella.

Financial terms weren't disclosed Thursday. L Brands said it could earn additional money from Regent if La Senza is later sold.

The La Senza sale comes as L Brands has taken other steps to change its business, including closing the handbag and accessories retailer Henri Bendel after the holiday season. Chief Executive Leslie Wexner has said he wants to focus on the company's bigger brands.

In selling La Senza and eliminating Henri Bendel, L Brands will still have the brands Victoria's Secret, PINK and Bath & Body Works. Sales from those three brands dwarf the sales that L Brands rings up from La Senza and Henri Bendel.

La Senza is expected to generate $250 million in revenue and a $40 million operating loss this year, L Brands said. There were 118 La Senza stores in Canada and 11 in the U.S. as of Nov. 3.

Analysts polled by FactSet expect L Brands to have sales of $7.35 billion in fiscal 2018.

Most of L Brands' revenue comes from retailer Victoria's Secret. The Wall Street Journal reported last month that the CEO of the lingerie division at Victoria's Secret, Jan Singer, was leaving. The company then announced Tory Burch president John Mehas would take over the job in early 2019.

Third-quarter net sales for L Brands rose 6% from a year ago to $2.78 billion. The company posted a loss of $43 million, compared with a profit of $86 million in the year-earlier period.

Shares of L Brands were down 0.4% in morning trading.

Write to Allison Prang at [e-mail]

Write to Allison Prang at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 13, 2018 10:50 ET (15:50 GMT)

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