Johnson Publishing Co., the bankrupt former publisher of Ebony and Jet magazines, is selling its iconic Fashion Fair beauty line for women of color to two of its former executives and a hedge-fund founder for $1.85 million, the Wall Street Journal reported. The publisher’s former chief executive, Desirée Rogers, and its former chief operating officer and president of digital, Cheryl Mayberry McKissack, will be the majority owners and operators of Fashion Fair, a representative said. The buyers also include Magnetar Capital LLC founder and Chief Executive Alec Litowitz, a minority investor who is backing the deal in his personal capacity. Evanston, Ill.-based Magnetar Capital, one of the country’s largest hedge funds, isn’t involved in the deal, a spokeswoman for the hedge fund said. A bankruptcy judge yesterday approved the sale of Fashion Fair to Winnetka, Ill.-based FFair Acquisition LLC, a holding company formed for the acquisition. Fashion Fair was once the largest black-owned cosmetics company in the world. The line was created by the late Eunice W. Johnson, the creator of the Ebony Fashion Fair Show that inspired the brand created for darker skin tones.
