Brooke Sutherland, Columnist

Avon Gets a Beauty Boost

More aggressive steps to improve the business earlier could have reaped greater value for investors.

December 17, 2015 at 5:33 PM UTC

Brooke Sutherland is Bloomberg News' Boston bureau chief and writes the Industrial Strength Newsletter. She was previously a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering deals and industrial companies and an M&A reporter for Bloomberg News.

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Avon is finally getting a little help from a private-equity firm, but it could have come on better terms if the company had done more to help itself first.

The struggling door-to-door cosmetics seller announced on Thursday that it's selling an almost 17 percent stake in itself and the bulk of its North American division to Cerberus Capital Management for a total of $605 million. The deal caps years of speculation about the fate of Avon after Coty walked away from an $11 billion takeover offer in 2012.