Avon Products rejects $10B buyout offer from Coty

Avon Products rejects $10B buyout offer from Coty

NEW YORK (AP) – Struggling beauty-products seller Avon Products on Monday rejected a buyout offer worth about $10 billion from fragrance maker Coty.

Coty went public with its bid for Avon Monday. It said the offer was an increase from a previous bid of $22.25 per share. The new offer is a 20% premium to Avon's Friday closing price of $19.36.

Avon, known in the U.S. for its representatives who sell products door to door and to friends and family, saw its stock (AVP) surge 18.5% to $22.95 in premarket trading.

But Avon said Monday that the offer is basically the same as Coty's previous one. And Avon said its board still believes Coty's offer is not in the best interest of shareholders and that it undervalues the company.

The offer comes as Avon is losing money and has a leadership vacuum. The company is searching for a CEO, struggling to improve results and winding up a long-running overseas bribery investigation that began in 2008.

Avon has restructured and cut jobs. But its profit has shrunk the past three years, and the bribery investigation has widened. To placate critics, in December Avon said it would seek a replacement for longtime CEO Andrea Jung, who plans to remain chairman.

Privately held Coty, whose brands include Davidoff, OPI and Sally Hansen, said in a letter to Avon that its proposal would not interfere with Avon's CEO search.

Avon, with brands including Skin-So-Soft and Avon Color, said it is committed to hiring a new CEO and believes that it will be worth more than Coty's takeover proposal with a new CEO in place.

Coty said Avon has refused to engage in buyout talks and that it was taking its bid public so Avon shareholders would be aware of its proposal. But Coty said it has no plans to pursue a hostile takeover.

Coty, known for its fragrances and nail products, said in its letter that a combined company would give it a stronger foothold in emerging markets. While Coty gets 26% of its revenue from emerging markets, Avon gets more than 68% of its revenue there.

Coty said Avon's global network of salespeople would help it grow more quickly in emerging markets, where many beauty products are dominated by door-to-door sales.

Coty said it is willing to consider boosting the bid if Avon can show that there is greater value.

But Avon said Coty's indication of interest is non-binding and does not imply a real offer.

"Coty is attempting to obtain a 'free look' at Avon in the absence of any commitment whatsoever to close a transaction at any price," Avon said.

Coty said if a deal were to occur, the combined company would be called Avon-Coty.

Coty was founded in Paris in 1904 by Francois Coty, a pioneer in the fragrance industry. The New York company, whose products are sold in 135 markets globally, said on its web site that it had revenue of almost $4.1 billion for the year ended June 30, 2011.

The bulk of those sales, 57%, came from fragrances. Color cosmetics made up 28% of sales, while skin and body care products made up 15%.

source: usatoday.com