The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition a purported British investment firm that came knocking on Avon Products' door with a takeover bid appears to be part of an elaborate hoax. A New York Times item inside The Globe says a firm calling itself PTG Capital Partners disclosed in a regulatory filing before noon Thursday it had offered to buy Avon for $18.75 (U.S.) a share. The report stunned the market and briefly sent Avon's shares soaring. Avon's stock had opened at $6.71 (U.S.). PTG Capital does not have an office at the building it claims to be located in London and is not registered with financial authorities in Britain. Also, Avon, a cosmetics company, denied even being in talks with "such an entity." PTG appears to be a twist on the name of TPG Capital, the private equity giant that was rumoured in January to be interested in buying Avon. Sue Vis, a manager for the executive suite office firm in Fort Worth, Tex., where PTG Capital said its lawyer's firm was located, said the filing was "bogus." Ms. Vis said she plans to call the Securities and Exchange Commission to notify it that the name of the law firm on the regulatory filing did not exist.