Coty steps up takeover pressure on Avon Coty has urged Avon to devote "no more than a couple of weeks" to confidential discussions on its $10bn takeover bid as the door-to-door cosmetics seller continues to resist its approach. In an effort to raise the pressure on its target, Coty, a privately owned fragrance maker, on Monday released its latest letter to Avon in which it said it could not raise its offer price without seeing Avon's books. Bart Becht, the former head of Reckitt Benckiser who is leading the bid as Coty's chairman, wrote to Andrea Jung, Avon's chairman: "Without being invited to complete due diligence, we have no way of knowing the best price we can ultimately pay to Avon shareholders." On Friday, Avon shares closed at $23.52, above Coty's offer of $23.25 a share - a sign that Wall Street is expecting a higher bid to come from Coty or another potential buyer. "We believe strongly that the only reasonable way to reach a conclusion on overall value for your shareholders is to do so in private negotiations, after you have given us access to due diligence," Mr Becht wrote. We are proposing that we devote no more than a couple of weeks - at your invitation - in confidential discussions to see if we have a basis for proceeding with a transaction. If we do not, each company can move on, taking its separate course," he added. He repeated that he was confident of Coty's ability to finance the deal. Avon shot back quickly with a statement: "As we said on April 2, Avon's board of directors concluded that Coty's indication of interest at $23.25 per share is opportunistic and does not reflect the fundamental value of the company and its global beauty care and direct selling franchise." Last week, Avon announced the appointment of Sheri McCoy, a former Johnson & Johnson executive, as its new chief executive, a move whose timing underlined its determination to stay independent. Avon is grappling with a series of operational and legal troubles, including an investigation into bribery allegations in China, which have weakened the door-to-door cosmetics brand, opening the way for the Coty bid. Mr Becht wrote: "We do not know the extent of the legal issues such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigation and related investigations and litigation or the extent of the operational challenges, and we cannot calculate the level of synergies from public ... information or the amount we would need to reinvest to fix the operational issues."