Avon to consider Coty bid Avon Products announced on Sunday it would consider the raised $10.7bn bid from Coty, saying it expected to respond to the fragrance maker within a week. Coty raised its earlier offer of $23.25 a share for the cosmetics direct seller to $24.75 a share in a letter addressed to the Avon board of directors dated May 9. The company, which announced for the first time that Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway would provide financing, gave Avon a three-day deadline of Monday for its response saying it would withdraw its offer if it failed to enter into talks. The troubled direct seller posted the letter on its website on Thursday morning, saying it would review Coty's raised offer "in due course." Avon said on Sunday it is considering the offer "in conjunction with management and the company's financial and legal advisors." Coty, which has made fragrances for celebrities including the singers Beyoncé and Jennifer Lopez, added that it was prepared to sign a confidentiality agreement and a standstill provision to prevent it from taking further public steps to acquire the company if Avon allowed it to conduct due diligence. Last month, Avon rebuffed Coty's original $10bn unsolicited bid. Analysts have said any offer below $25 a share was "opportunistic." Avon has strengthened its defences by recruiting Sheri McCoy, a former Johnson & Johnson executive, as its new chief executive. Andrea Jung would remain in the position chairman. Avon, which reported worse-than-expected first-quarter earnings on May 1, has been under fire after a host of operational and legal troubles. In 2008, Avon began an internal investigation of possible violations in China to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the US law that forbids bribery of officials overseas to win or retain business. On Thursday, Moody's Investors Service also downgraded the long-term ratings of Avon Products from A3 to Baa1, or three notches above junk status, following similar downgrades by S&P and Fitch earlier in the week. Avon shares on Friday closed at $20.19.