Cooper Tire & Rubber Company announced on Feb 23 that its Board of Directors has authorised the repurchase of up to US$200 million of the company’s outstanding common stock through December 31, 2016. Shares will be repurchased from time to time, based on market conditions and will be executed through open market purchases, privately negotiated purchases or otherwise. All or part of the repurchases may be implemented under Rule 10b5-1 trading plans, which allow repurchases under pre-set terms when the company might otherwise be prevented from doing so. The repurchased shares will be held in Treasury and used for general corporate purposes.
The company recently completed a US$200 million accelerated share repurchase program announced in August 2014. Under that program, the company bought approximately 6.4 million shares at an average price of US$31.49 per share. As of February 19, 2015, Cooper had approximately 57.4 million outstanding common shares.
“Entering into a new share repurchase programme demonstrates our continuing commitment to our overarching goal of delivering value to shareholders. Our strong balance sheet allows us to return cash to shareholders through share repurchases and our quarterly dividend, invest in our worldwide growth opportunities, and meet our other obligations,” commented Roy Armes, Cooper’s Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and President.