After the COVID-19 pandemic dashed L Brands' (BBWI -0.11%) hopes of selling a controlling stake in its troubled Victoria's Secret brand, the company is floating a bond offering totaling $1.25 billion for cash to fund its business. The news comes several weeks after the company's latest quarterly report showed a $300 million loss and a 37% plunge in total revenue year over year.
L Brands had worked out a deal to sell Victoria's Secret to Sycamore Partners, a private equity firm, for approximately $525 million. However, when the coronavirus pandemic prompted the company to temporarily close its Victoria's Secret stores, Sycamore claimed this represented damage to the brand's value and a breach of the deal's terms. L Brands and Sycamore eventually agreed to cancel the acquisition.
Image source: L Brands.
According to a press release from L Brands, $750 million worth of the new bond issue consists of senior secured notes. The notes are "secured on a first-priority lien basis by substantially all of the assets of the company and the guarantors," with a few assets excepted. The remaining $500 million consists of senior unsecured notes. All of the bonds are due in 2025.
L Brands intends to use part of the bond sale proceeds to "repurchase or redeem all of our outstanding 2021 Notes and to pay any related premiums and expenses," closing out an older bond issue with cash raised via the new issue. Roughly $200 million is earmarked for funding retirement plans and the remainder will go to "general corporate purposes."
An anonymous source told Bloomberg the secured bonds may yield approximately 8% and the unsecured bonds 10.5% to 10.75%.
