NEW YORK — Coty came calling, but Avon slammed the door. Struggling direct cosmetics seller Avon Products on Monday rejected a $10 billion buyout offer from Coty, a smaller beauty-products maker looking to capitalize on Avon’s business woes.
It is the largest takeover offer by far from New York-based Coty, which has snapped up smaller beauty brands such as OPI nail polish and Philosophy skin care in the past two years.
The $23.25-a-share bid also underscores the weakness at Avon, which has been beset by a foreign-bribery investigation, weakening sales and a leadership vacuum. The deal, should it go through, would be the biggest acquisition in the U.S. this year, according to research firm Dealogic. And it would be the largest in the retail sector globally since 2007.
