Avon Products Announces Agreement With Activist Investors: Here's What You Need To Know

Avon Products, Inc.AVPannounced on Monday that it has reached an agreement with an investor group led by Barrington Capital, including NuOrion Partners and other investors that own more than 3 percent of the company. As part of the agreement, Barrington Capital has been granted the right to approve the appointment of an independent director to Avon's Board of Directors. The candidate will be jointly selected by the company and Cerberus Capital Management. Chan W. Galbato, Avon's non-executive Chairman of the Board, said, "We are pleased to have reached this settlement agreement with Barington, which allows us to avoid a potential proxy contest. We have a process underway to identify the additional independent Board member and we look forward to working with Barington to complete that process. The Avon Board and management team continue to be fully engaged in executing the Company's transformation plan for the benefit of all shareholders." In a separate press release, Avon announced that Cathy D. Ross will join its Board of Directors, effective immediately. Most recently, Ross served as an Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of FedEx Express and oversaw $47 billion in annual revenues. Shares of Avon showed no trades early Monday morning and lost more than 2 percent on Thursday to close at $4.28.