Skip to main content
BoF Logo

The Business of Fashion

Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.

Revlon Revisits Debt Exchange To Buy Time for Turnaround

The cosmetics company issued a revised plan to exchange its 5.75 percent bonds due in 2021 after an earlier offer attracted almost no takers.
Revlon display | Source: Shutterstock
By
  • Bloomberg

NEW YORK, United States — Revlon Inc. is asking bondholders a second time to ease its debt load and give the cosmetics giant more time to ride out pressures from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The company, hit hard by store closings to contain the virus, issued a revised plan to exchange its 5.75 percent bonds due in 2021 after Revlon’s earlier offer attracted almost no takers.

Investors would get either cash or a combination of cash, term loans and second lien notes, the firm said in a regulatory filing Tuesday. The totals they’d receive are still well below face value, and some holders who delay accepting could wind up getting as little as 27.5 cents on the dollar for their holdings. The deal also eliminates certain protections for bondholders on existing notes.

If the new version prevails, Revlon would get more room to focus on its turnaround. The company, led by Chief Executive Debra Perelman, was struggling even before the pandemic hit because much of its sales came from stores like Macy’s, Walmart and CVS at at time when shoppers are migrating to specialty chains such as Sephora or buying their makeup and cosmetics online.

ADVERTISEMENT

Investors who act by October 13 will get $275 in cash, plus a $50 early tender fee, for every $1,000 of bonds they turn in. Certain institutional holders can receive as much as $250 in cash, plus $145 of term loans and $217.50 of new second-lien notes. The plan also calls for wiping out substantially all the restrictive covenants and certain default provisions on the notes.

The infrequently traded 2021 bonds were quoted at 32.5 cents on the dollar on September 22.

This is Revlon’s second attempt to complete the debt swap, after an initial offer in July drew a participation rate of only 5 percent. Like the first one, the revised offer needs holders of 95 percent of the principal to sign up.

“This new exchange offer incorporates feedback from discussions with many of our key constituents and provides our noteholders with more attractive terms compared to our prior offer, while still supporting the goal of allowing Revlon to continue investing in our business and in our strategic growth priorities,” a representative for Revlon said in a statement to Bloomberg.

“We remain committed to taking the right actions to protect our liquidity, managing through the Covid-19 pandemic and ensuring that we have debt maturity runway to allow us to continue executing our turnaround strategy,” they said.

The final deadline for the exchange for investors who pass up the early tender payments is 11:59 p.m. on October 27. A conference call to discuss the exchange is scheduled for September 30 at 2:30 p.m. in New York.

Revlon, controlled by Ron Perelman’s MacAndrews & Forbes, has struggled to remain relevant and stem falling sales amid competition from Estée Lauder Cos. and a host of smaller companies that have used social media to lure away customers.

By Katherine Doherty.

In This Article
Topics
Organisations

© 2024 The Business of Fashion. All rights reserved. For more information read our Terms & Conditions

More from Beauty
Analysis and advice on the fast-evolving beauty business.
view more

Subscribe to the BoF Daily Digest

The essential daily round-up of fashion news, analysis, and breaking news alerts.

The Business of Fashion

Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
CONNECT WITH US ON
BoF Professional - How to Turn Data Into Meaningful Customer Connections
© 2024 The Business of Fashion. All rights reserved. For more information read our Terms & Conditions, Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy and Accessibility Statement.
BoF Professional - How to Turn Data Into Meaningful Customer Connections