Avon investors have reason to rue Coty’s US$24.75 buy-out offer of 2012. Currently Avon shares have sunk more than 35% in the last year alone and are now worth around $14.68 (before going to press).
The company is still in the midst of a turnaround strategy while cleaning up the mess – and a $500m legal bill – from Chinese bribery allegations. But its stuttering progress – last month the Avon share price slipped to $13.30, its lowest point in almost 15 years – means that the board must be increasingly open for a sale.