Revlon agrees to buy Elizabeth Arden | Progresiv
Revlon Inc. agreed to buy rival Elizabeth Arden Inc. on, months after Revlon’s largest shareholder contemplated putting the cosmetics company up for sale itself. 
The 420 million dollars all-cash deal will expand Revlon’s presence in categories such as skin care and perfume and give it a broader geographic footprint, creating a company with combined annual sales of roughly 3 billion dollars. The deal also will help Revlon refinance its heavy debt load.
Both businesses have struggled in recent years. Revlon has been weighed down by its debt, while celebrity fragrances, a key part of Elizabeth Arden’s portfolio, have fallen out of favor.
It comes six months after controlling shareholder and Chairman Ronald O. Perelman disclosed he was exploring strategic alternatives for Revlon. Since then, Revlon’s former CEO Lorenzo Delpani stepped down and in March, the cosmetics giant brought in Fabian Garcia, an outsider who was chief operating officer at Colgate-Palmolive Co. It also bought some smaller businesses from Coty Inc.’s Cutex business.
Elizabeth Arden is “one of the last independent iconic brands in the cosmetics industry,” Mr. Garcia said. The company says the deal is expected to close by the end of 2016.
Elizabeth Arden, which was founded in 1910 in New York, sells perfumes and cosmetics under its own brand, as well as making fragrances for a roster of celebrity trademarks such as Mariah Carey and Taylor Swift. The company’s sales have weakened in recent years and it hasn’t produced an annual profit since 2013. (www.wsj.com)
