L Brands Inc (LB.N) filed a legal complaint against Sycamore Partners on Thursday, after the buyout firm walked away from a $525 million deal to acquire a majority stake in the company’s Victoria’s Secret lingerie brand.

The filing in a Delaware court sets up the first high-profile U.S. legal fight over the termination of a merger agreement because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sycamore said on Wednesday the worldwide closure of nearly all 1,600 Victoria’s Secret and PINK stores, including more than a thousand stores in North America, in response to the coronavirus outbreak occurred without its permission and had breached the terms of the deal.

However, L Brands said the agreement was still valid as it was transparent with Sycamore on the steps it was taking to “protect the Victoria’s Secret business”.

Source: Reuters

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