Avon looking to sell, but no one’s buying

No one’s answering, despite Avon calling.

Onetime suitor Coty and private equity firms have been turning their backs on the cosmetic company recently, The Post has learned.

There were reports in mid-April that Avon, the New York direct cosmetics seller with six million active representatives, was seeking a buyer for its North American division or possibly the whole business.

Buyout firms approached Avon a few months ago about a possible deal, but are losing interest because of the difficulty in financing an offer, two sources close to the situation said.

“It’s pretty dead,” said one source.

Meanwhile, Coty, which made a $10 billion offer for Avon in 2012, is not interested, the sources said.

The cosmetics rival is instead in the auction to buy Procter & Gamble’s CoverGirl and Max Factor brands.

“All in all, I don’t see a deal happening unless Avon basically gives away its North America business for essentially nothing,” a hedge fund investor said.

The timing is not great for Avon, which not only reported disappointing earnings last week but also faces significant loans maturing in 2018 that it may be unable to pay.

Sanford Bernstein last month said by the end of the year, Avon may break a loan covenant for its $1 billion revolving line of credit, which “is probably not a good thing.”

This year Avon is basically breaking even when factoring in its $100 million in free cash flow and subtracting the $100 million it pays in dividends, Sanford Bernstein says.

Avon declined to comment.