The Limited Inc. has increased its bid for the 16% of Intimate Brands Inc. it does not currently own. Limited is now offering 1.1 shares of its stock for each share of Intimate Brands, an increase from the 1.046 shares it originally held out in early February.
Based on the current price of The Limited's stock, the new offer values the remaining shares of Intimate Brands at more than $1.5 billion.
Both companies released February sales figures. During the four weeks ended March 2, The Limited had sales of $622.4 million, up from $593.4 million a year ago. The Limited's 2001 sales figures do not include revenue from its Lane Bryant division, which was sold to Charming Shoppes Inc. in August.
For the same four-week period, based Intimate Brands had February sales of $349.6 million, up from $338.1 million last year.
