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Victoria’s Secret rises after it adds a poison pill to fend off activist investor

The legacy lingerie brand wants to protect management (and its valuation) as its stock craters.

5/20/25 12:59PM

Victoria’s Secret shares jumped as much as 3.5% after the lingerie giant adopted a shareholder rights plan, or “poison pill.” The move was aimed at stopping Australian billionaire Brett Blundy from gaining too much control of the company after his Singapore-based firm, BBRC International, boosted its stake to about 13% and shifted to activist-style filings earlier this year.

The pill would kick in if any investor hits a 15% ownership threshold, triggering the issuance of new shares to dilute their stake. Victoria’s Secret said the move is meant to protect long-term shareholders and block any efforts to seize control without paying a premium.

Blundy has been in talks with the company for years and recently launched a rival lingerie brand, Léays. Victoria’s Secret stock has tumbled more than 43% this year, fueling concerns of a takeover attempt that would capitalize on its weaker valuation.

Victoria’s Secret tapped Hillary Super, the former CEO of Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty, last August to take the reins as chief executive, hoping to reboot growth amid rising pressure from brands like Skims. But tariffs and broader retail headwinds have made the turnaround a challenge.

Max Knoblauch18h

Premium seats help push airlines higher following third-quarter results

Shares of American Airlines are climbing toward the carrier’s best trading day since August 12, when ultra-budget rival Spirit issued its initial warning about its ability to survive. American’s shares are up more than 7% on Friday afternoon.

Investors’ optimism comes a day after American posted a better-than-expected full-year earnings forecast. In a call with investors, American said that it’s ramping up its premium cabin offerings.

“Our ability to grow capacity in premium markets will be further supported as we take delivery of new aircraft and reconfigure our existing fleet. These efforts will allow us to grow our premium seats at nearly two times the rate of main cabin seats,” CEO Robert Isom said. American CFO Devin May said that nose-to-tail retrofits of certain wide-body jets will bump the number of premium seats available on those planes by 25%.

Extra legroom has been a boon for major carriers, particularly this quarter. Delta Air Lines said its premium product revenue grew 9% in Q3, compared to a 4% drop in economy seat revenue. Similarly, United Airlines said its premium revenue grew 6%, outpacing economy. Shares of both airlines were up more than 3% on Friday.

Carriers with less exposure to first- and business-class tickets like Southwest Airlines and JetBlue didn’t see the same amount of momentum on the day.