Avon CEO steps down as Natura deal closes

[January 03, 2020]   (Reuters) - Avon Products Inc <AVP.N> Chief Executive Officer Jan Zijderveld will step down on Friday, the company said, as it closes its sale to Brazilian personal care cosmetics group Natura & Co Holding SA <NTCO3.SA>.

A natura product is picture at the company distribution center in Sao Paulo, Brazil December 19, 2019. REUTERS/Amanda Perobelli

Natura Executive Chairman Roberto Marques will take over as head of the U.S. cosmetics maker.

Zijderveld took the helm at the door-to-door selling pioneer in February 2018 when it was already struggling with falling sales amid changing consumer preferences.

Natura, which also owns Aesop and The Body Shop, agreed to buy Avon in 2019 through a share swap that valued the over 130-year old company's equity at around $2 billion.

The acquisition is set to close on Friday, Avon said.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh and Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Sriraj Kalluvila)

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