The Limited Inc., Columbus-based apparel retailer, announced that it has accepted all the shares of Class A common stock of Intimate Brands Inc. that were tendered by Intimate Brands shareholders prior to the expiration of its exchange offer at midnight on Wednesday, March 20.
A total of 72.6 million shares were tendered, including 6.5 million shares subject to guaranteed delivery. Those shares, together with the common stock previously owned by The Limited, mean the company now owns about 98 percent of Intimate Brands.
The Limited expects to complete a short-form merger of Intimate Brands, the maker of Victoria's Secret lingerie, into a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Limited shortly after the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, March 21. Following the merger, Intimate Brands shares will no longer be publicly traded. In the merger, each remaining share of Intimate Brands Class A common stock will be converted into the right to receive the same number of Limited shares as provided in the exchange offer.
The Limited, Inc., through Victoria's Secret, Bath & Body Works, Express, Lerner New York, Limited Stores, Structure, White Barn Candle Co. and Henri Bendel, operates 4,606 specialty stores.