Victoria's Secret goes private at $1.1B — could go 1 of 2 ways

It was a public Secret... But now it's a private Secret (and less of an oxymoron). Victoria's Secret is being sold by its parent L Brands — the lingerie legend and its teen-friendly offshoot Pink will be taken private at a $1.1B valuation. Private equity firm Sycamore Partners gets 55% of VS, while L Brands keeps the rest of its former child. L has been struggling lately...

• L Brands' market value has fallen 75% in the past 5 years, from $29B to $6.4B.
• The decline's been driven by Victoria's Secret, which hasn't aged well in the era of inclusivity and bralettes. The $1.1B value is less than the Gap (which is struggling) - by over 80%.
• That leaves L Brands with just its Bath & Body Works chain (because hygiene is not a fad).

We hear a lot about private companies going public... not so much the opposite (except for Elon's tweets). PE firms usually take out big loans for these buyouts, which they often pass on as debt to companies like VS — this has resulted in quite a few bankruptcies (Toys R Us, Payless), but also some successes (SeaWorld, Canada Goose).