Revlon to explore options, says largest shareholder

Revlon Inc's largest shareholder MacAndrews and Forbes said on Friday the cosmetics maker would explore options for the business.

MacAndrews and Forbes, the holding company through which billionaire Ronald Perelman owns about 87% stake in Revlon, disclosed in an SEC filing that an external financial adviser has been retained to help in the efforts.

Bloomberg reported on Thursday that Revlon had tapped Goldman Sachs Group Inc , citing sources. Following the report, shares of the New York-based company surged as much as 17% and closed up 5.5%.

Perelman in 2016 too had urged the struggling cosmetics company to explore strategic alternatives as it battled with changing consumer preferences and intense competition from bigger rivals Estee Lauder and L'Oreal SA.

As of Thursday's close, Revlon had a market capitalisation $814.6 million (670.1 million pounds) and the stock had lost about 39% of its value this year.