Bankruptcy Chatter Continues to Plague Revlon
Revlon Inc. could be heading to the bankruptcy courts.
Multiple reports are swirling that the struggling beauty company, whose brands include namesake Revlon, Elizabeth Arden and Almay, is considering filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as early as next week, although nothing is final at this stage.
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One source told WWD: “It was just a matter of time in the absence of an agreement to restructure the debt.”
Market chatter of a looming bankruptcy filing sent Revlon’s stock tumbling 53 percent to close at $2.05 Friday, marking its biggest daily drop ever, although representatives for the company are yet to comment publicly on the matter.
Revlon has been struggling with a hefty pile of debt (more than $3 billion long-term) that it spent much of 2020 renegotiating, which enabled it to avoid a more formal restructuring process. But supply chain issues and increased competition from the likes of The Estée Lauder Cos. and a plethora of digital start-ups have only exacerbated the situation and these factors, combined with the loans that are coming up for renewal, are forcing it to once again consider a bankruptcy filing, according to sources.
The business is majority owned by MacAndrews & Forbes, run by Ronald Perelman, who said in 2020 that he’d been selling off assets — from companies to fine art. At the beginning of this year, he offloaded his opulent Lily Pond Lane mansion in East Hampton for $84 million. This was down from the original listing price of $115 million.
Another industry source added that while the industry believes bankruptcy is only a matter of time, “Ron Perelman has too much pride to let it go under so it must be really bad if it’s the case. They divested some brands last year but I’m guessing barely made anything.”
Since 2018, Revlon has been run by chief executive officer Debra Perelman, Ron Perelman’s daughter. In early May, to coincide with the release of Revlon’s latest set of results, she said: “While the supply chain challenges continue to have an impact, our first-quarter results were strong on both the top and bottom line. Each of our reporting segments grew over the prior year, and we experienced our best Q1 adjusted EBITDA in six years.”
But sources stressed that the business has not improved enough to deal with Revlon’s liquidity needs.
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