Briefs

Avon Products Chairman and CEO Andrea Jung may have a hard time fending off a takeover by New York-based perfume maker Coty, which has offered $10 billion to buy the world’s largest door-to-door seller of cosmetics. Avon has rejected the bid, which values the company at 8.9 times its 2011 earnings, as too low. There may not be any other suitors; Avon is grappling with slow sales and seeking a new CEO. Rommel Dionisio, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, says the company’s direct-selling model is an awkward fit for potential bidders such as Procter & Gamble. An ongoing Securities and Exchange Commission probe into Avon’s overseas business practices is another negative.

Burger King Holdings, the fast-food chain taken private in 2010 by New York investment firm 3G Capital, will go public again after merging with a company owned by financier William Ackman. 3G will get $1.4 billion in cash to transfer Burger King to Justice Holdings, a company co-founded by Ackman. Justice and its founders will hold 29 percent, giving Burger King a potential equity value of about $4.8 billion. 3G paid $3.3 billion for Burger King, whose sales have stalled, just 18 months ago.