Perelman, of course, is familiar to the pop culture industry due to his disastrous tenure as the primary stockholder in Marvel Entertainment, which is still saddled in debt thanks to his ill-advised acquisitions and financial machinations. Other Perelman holdings such as Sunbeam and Revlon have also fared poorly, and the New York Times reports that Perelman's holdings in public companies have declined almost 3 billion dollars in the past two years. However, since Perelman has invested an estimated $250 million in buying back the Revlon bonds, it does appear to indicate that he thinks he can right the foundering cosmetics giant, and avoid having to share any equity gains with the bondholders.
Of course Revlon will have to fight its way out from under a separate pile of almost $2 billion in debts, which are largely the result of Perelman's original $1.8 billion dollar takeover (which was backed by eighties junk bond king Michael Milken). However Perelman is investing his own money in a company with very clouded prospects. Perelman also monetized his holdings in Marvel with a bond issue backed by stock, but he eventually let Marvel go to Carl Icahn. His reinvestment in Revlon is almost out of character for Perelman, who is obviously attracted to the glitzy cosmetic industry and its aging colossus. But like Marvel, Revlon is struggling under a mountain of debt and it appears that Revlon will have to do more than just replace high priced spokesperson, Cindy Crawford. Perhaps a new line of skull buffing, high gloss products for well-heeled, balding males can help right the ship.
