Charming Shoppes to Buy Lane Bryant

Charming Shoppes Inc., operator of Fashion Bug and Catherine’s Plus Sizes clothing stores, agreed to acquire Limited Inc.’s Lane Bryant plus-size chain for $335 million in cash and stock.

After the purchase, Charming Shoppes will have more than $2.5 billion in annual sales, with about 70% coming from plus-size clothing. Charming Shoppes plans to run Lane Bryant as a stand-alone company, a spokeswoman said. The company doesn’t plan to close any stores or fire workers.

Limited will own about 8% of Charming Shoppes after the deal.

Shares of Bensalem, Pa.-based Charming Shoppes rose 46 cents to close at $6.32 on Nasdaq. Columbus, Ohio-based Limited fell 24 cents to $15.50 on the NYSE.