L Brands investors may receive additional information about the case by clicking the link "Submit Your Information" above.
According to the complaint, L Brands is a specialty retailer of women’s intimate apparel and personal care and beauty products. Its merchandise is sold through specialty retail stores in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland and China, as well as via websites and international franchise, license and wholesale partners. During the Class Period, the company’s portfolio of brands included Victoria’s Secret, PINK, Bath & Body Works, La Senza and Henri Bendel. Victoria’s Secret, PINK and La Senza are brands that are primarily associated with women’s intimate apparel. Bath & Body Works is a specialty retailer of body care, home fragrance products, soaps and sanitizers. Henri Bendel was a seller of handbags, jewelry and other accessory products.
The Class Period commences on May 31, 2018, when L Brands presented at the RBC Capital Markets Consumer and Retail Conference. During the conference, Stuart B. Burgdoerfer, L Brands’ Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, called the payment of its dividend “safe” and reassured investors about the sustainability of L Brands’ dividends, claiming that: (i) L Brands had the “cash flow needed and cash balances, et cetera, to sustain the dividend;” (ii) “the dividend is important to shareholders and that we’re able to, with current year cash flow, sustain our dividend;” and (iii) “[t]he company, in its history, has never reduced the dividend.”
According to the complaint, after the market closed on November 19, 2018, L Brands issued a press release announcing its financial results for the 2018 third quarter, the period ended November 3, 2018. The press release also announced that L Brands intended to reduce its annual ordinary dividend to $1.20 from $2.40 beginning with the quarterly dividend to be paid in March 2019 in order to deleverage L Brands’ balance sheet over time. Following this news, the price of L Brands common stock declined approximately 18%, from $34.55 per share on November 19, 2018 to $28.43 per share on November 20, 2018.
The complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, the defendants misrepresented and failed to disclose that: (a) the Victoria’s Secret and PINK businesses were having a material adverse effect on L Brands’ cash flow, liquidity and debt levels; (b) the defendants lacked a reasonable basis for their positive statements about the ability of L Brands to sustain its dividend; (c) disclosures in filings L Brands made with the SEC were materially false and misleading; (d) the risk factor disclosures in filings L Brands made with the SEC were materially false and misleading; (e) the representations about L Brands’ disclosure controls in filings L Brands made with the SEC were materially false and misleading; (f) the certifications issued by the defendants on L Brands’ disclosure controls were materially false and misleading; and (g) based on the foregoing, the defendants lacked a reasonable basis for their positive statements about L Brands’ then-current business operations and future financial prospects.
If you are a member of the class described above, you may no later than September 23, 2019 move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff of the class, if you so choose.
A lead plaintiff is a representative party that acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. In order to be appointed lead plaintiff, the Court must determine that the class member’s claim is typical of the claims of other class members, and that the class member will adequately represent the class. Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff. Returning the attached form or communicating with any counsel is not necessary to participate or share in any recovery achieved in this case. Any member of the purported class may move the court to serve as a lead plaintiff through counsel of his/her choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an inactive class member.
Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP has not filed a complaint in this matter. If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP toll free at 1-844-887-9500 or 1-610-667-7706, or via e-mail at info@ktmc.com. If you would like additional information about the suit, please click on the link "Submit Your Information" above and fill out the form as promptly as possible.
CONTACT:
Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP
James Maro, Esq. or Adrienne Bell, Esq.
280 King of Prussia Road
Radnor, PA 19087
1-844-887-9500 (toll free) or 1-610-667-7706
Or by e-mail at info@ktmc.com