Oprah denies rumours of acquisition in Avon

Published: 3-Dec-2015

Avon’s stock rocketed 17% after speculation that Oprah Winfrey might buy a stake

Avon stock jumped 17% yesterday after rumours circulated that TV personality and businesswoman Oprah Winfrey was planning to buy a stake in the US beauty company.

When Cosmetics Business contacted Avon for a comment, the company said it did not comment on rumours or speculation. Meanwhile any hope raised by the rumour was dispelled when a spokesperson for Winfrey told CNBC that there was no truth in what was circulating.

It’s not the first time Avon has been impacted by a false alarm such as this. Back in May, Avon shares soared 20% after a hoax bid was submitted by a company alleging to be PTG Capital Partners to take over Avon. However, unlike the PTG Capital Partners incident, a bid from Winfrey would not have been altogether unbelievable.

Just this October, Winfrey announced her intention to buy a 10% stake in diet company Weight Watchers, whose stock consequently surged more than 280%; on the day, share price closed up a massive 105%. Since then it has been slowly coming back down and is now trading at $25.98.

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