Revlon May Sell Max Factor,German Unit for $1 Billion

Cosmetics giant Revlon Inc. is expected to announce plans to sell its Max Factor division and a German subsidiary to Procter & Gamble for $1 billion, the New York Times reported.

The paper said the companies will sign a letter of intent as early as today.

Max Factor had annual sales of $621 million in 1990. The German subsidiary, Betrix, another beauty aides company, had sales of $216 million.

The operations represented 30% of the sales of Revlon, which is headed by Ronald O. Perelman.

Revlon has reportedly been trying to sell some or most of its assets since the beginning of the year, following Perelman’s strategy of acquiring, improving and selling companies, the Times said.

Perelman bought Revlon with junk bonds in the 1980s and took it private soon after.