No wonder investors bid the shares up nearly 15% on Thursday on a report that private equity giant TPG Capital is in talks to acquire the company. The New York Post cited unnamed sources in a report from Dealreporter. Avon said it does not comment on market rumors or speculation.
In April 2012, current CEO Sheri McCoy replaced Andrea Jung, who stepped down in December 2011, but the company’s stock has not recovered. In some eyes, any change would be welcome. An analyst cited by the Post said McCoy is “clearly not getting the job done.”
Avon paid $67.6 million after pleading guilty in December 2014 to violating the Federal Corrupt Practices Act. The bribery investigation started under Jung and has cost the company a total of $135 million in penalties.
BMO Capital Markets downgraded the stock from Market Perform to Underperform Friday morning, and Stifel Nicolaus dropped shares from Buy to Hold last October. The consensus price target on the stock is $10.65, which might indicate that a deal in the range of $13 a share might gain traction.
The stock gave some of Thursday’s gain back in the Friday’s premarket, trading at around $8.48 in a 52-week range of $7.25 to $16.21.
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