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Coty has raised the ante in its unsolicited bid to acquire larger rival Avon, making a revised higher offer with the backing of investment guru Warren Buffett. Coty has now offered to pay $24.75 a share for Avon, up from its original offer of $23.25, valuing the direct-selling giant at $10.7bn.
The new offer came after Buffet said he would help finance Coty’s bid, and was laid out in a public letter to Avon by Bart Becht, Chairman of Coty. In the letter, Coty said it was “disappointed by the current stalemate” and urged Avon’s board to allow it access to their books. Becht added that the equity financing for its bid would partly come from Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway fund.
Avon did not immediately dismiss the new offer like it had with the first one, but said it would respond “in due course”. The group has earlier maintained that a new turnaround plan will help deliver better value for shareholders than a tie-up with Coty.
NamNews - Friday 11th May 2012
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