NEW YORK, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- Financier and Revlon Inc. Chairman Ronald Perelman is expected to replace the cosmetic company's chief executive Jeffrey Nugent, with former Coca-Cola Co. executive Jack Stahl, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
As of Thursday evening, Stahl's contract was still being finalized, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the deal.
Perelman's MacAndrews and Forbes Holdings Inc. owns 83 percent of Revlon.
As recently as October, Perelman praised Nugent's turnaround efforts, which included cutting about 50 percent of Revlon's manufacturing capacity.
Perelman began a search six months ago for Nugent's successor or a strong No. 2, the Journal reported.
Stahl, 48, a lifelong Coca-Cola executive, quit the Atlanta-based beverage giant last year after serving as No. 2 for one year.
Stahl will find conditions at Revlon considerably more difficult than at Coca-Cola.
The company has reported losses for the past 12 consecutive quarters. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial/First Call expect Revlon to report a first quarter operating loss of six cents a share, compared to a loss of 56 cents a share for the same period last year.
Revlon plans to announce first quarter results on Feb. 25.
Shares of Revlon lost 48 cents, or 10.9 percent, to close Thursday at $3.92 on heavy volume of 158,300 shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock has traded between $3.87 and $9.00 a share over the past 52-weeks.
