(Bloomberg) -- Sara Blakely founded Spanx Inc. in 2000 with $5,000 of her personal savings earned from selling fax machines door-to-door. She just struck a deal with Blackstone Inc. that values the company at $1.2 billion. Blakely, 50, will retain a significant interest in the Atlanta-based maker of shapewear and pantyhose, according to a statement from the two firms on Wednesday. She will continue to oversee daily operations alongside Spanx’s existing senior management team and will become executive chairwoman once the deal closes. “This is a really important moment in time for female entrepreneurs,” Blakely said in the statement.