Investor Plans to ‘Wait and See’ on Possible Avon Takeover Bid

Investor Irwin L. Jacobs, who together with Amway Corp. owns 10.3% of Avon Products, hinted Monday that the heated battle for the door-to-door cosmetics giant may not be over.

Jacobs said he is still evaluating his options regarding Avon, which late Wednesday rejected a $2.1-billion takeover offer from Amway, a direct-sales concern based in Ada, Mich. Amway promptly withdrew its $39-a-share offer, sending Avon’s stock down 20% in two sessions.

But Avon’s stock jumped again Monday, and Jacobs said he was not interested in selling his shares back to the New York-based company.

“What we do at this point is no defined plan. We are looking at all our options,” Jacobs said. “Let’s just say this is an early chapter and we’ll have to wait and see what takes place.”

Avon shares surged $2.375 to $34.625 Monday as the New York Stock Exchange’s most active issue. Separately, Merrill Lynch revealed that it holds 5.8% of Avon for arbitrage purposes, but is not planning to buy the company.