Limited has reached a deal on Express.
Limited is selling 67 percent of its interest in Express to affiliates of private equity firm Golden Gate Capital for $548 million. The sale is expected to be completed by July."Our strategic agenda focuses on growth in the intimate apparel, and personal care and beauty segments of our business," company founder Les Wexner said in a statement. "The new ownership structure for Express will provide it with the resources, leadership focus and capital to maximize its potential."
The decisions follow the 2001 sale of Lane Bryant and 2002 sale of Lerner New York. Limited Brands also spun off teen retailer Abercrombie & Fitch Co. and girls' retailer Tween Brands Inc. and consolidated its struggling Structure menswear stores under the Express label.
In January, the company bought La Senza Corp., an intimate apparel retailer based in Canada, for $628 million.
There is no time frame for what Limited Brands will do with Limited Stores, which Wexner used as the starting point for the specialty retailer when he opened his first store in 1963.