Shares in cosmetics group Avon soared by 20% on the New York Stock exchange after spurious reports of an $8 billion takeover offer from a company that may not even exist. The offer is three times its market value. Avon confirmed that it had not received any offers and the filing by the mystery firm, calling itself PTG Capital Partners, is filled with errors. The resulting volatility in the markets meant that trading in Avon’s shares had to be suspended three times.
“This was false information; it may be incredibly difficult to ascertain whoever was selling stock at those prices, who was the guilty party. So they should cancel all trades – that would be the fair thing to do,” said Stephen Massocca, chief investment officer at Wedbush Equity Management in San Francisco.
