After Deal, Can Victoria’s Secret Be Turned Around?

Victoria’s Secret has been sold — and now the question is whether it can stem its slide. At least for now, Wall Street continues to have its doubts. Shares of L Brands Inc. closed down 3.6 percent Thursday to $23.42 each, and are down roughly 13-and-a-half percent year-over-year — or more than 75 percent since the company’s peak in October 2015. Things might be easier once the retailer becomes part of Sycamore Partners’ portfolio and out of the spotlight of the Street. Victoria’s Secret’s parent L Brands said Thursday it had sold 55 percent of the intimates giant to Sycamore for $525 million. L Brands will retain a 45 percent stake in the innerwear giant, which Sycamore valued overall at $1.1 billion. The deal, which is expected to close in the second quarter, includes the Pink brand, as well as the beauty and lingerie divisions of the business. L Brands’ remaining operation, Bath & Body Works, will become a stand-alone public firm. As part of the shift, Leslie H. Wexner, L Brand’s chairman and chief executive officer, is stepping aside to become chairman emeritus of the company he founded 57 years ago. Nick Coe, the current ceo of Bath & Body Works, has

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