Revlon Inc. is preparing to file for chapter 11 protection as soon as next week after struggling for years with too much debt, stiff competition in the cosmetics business and more recent inflation and supply-chain pressures, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The cosmetics maker, owned by billionaire Ron Perelman’s MacAndrews & Forbes, has been in restructuring talks with top-ranking lenders ahead of debt maturities that begin next year. A bankruptcy filing could end Mr. Perelman’s control of Revlon, which his private-equity firm bought in 1985. The situation is fluid and a chapter 11 filing isn’t certain, a person familiar with the matter said. Revlon shares dropped 53% on Friday to $2.05 a share. Sales rebounded by 8% in the latest quarter as consumer shopping habits returned closer to pre-pandemic levels. But the company’s outlook is still challenged by its need to raise capital for liquidity needs, according to an April report by S&P Global Ratings. Reorg Research earlier reported that Revlon was planning to file for bankruptcy. The company’s nearest upcoming debt maturity is in September 2023 and involves an $866 million loan that was paid off by accident in 2020 by administrative agent Citigroup Inc. with its own money rather than Revlon’s. Some lenders gave the money back to Citi, but others kept roughly $500 million of the accidental payment.
