Jun 9 2010
Forest Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE: FRX) announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated to repurchase approximately $500 million of its common shares under an accelerated share repurchase program. Forest will acquire these common shares under the Board authorized 50 million share repurchase program announced on May 18, 2010.
“We ended fiscal year 2010 with a strong cash position of approximately $4 billion, which enables us to embrace a capital deployment strategy that increases per share earnings by reducing outstanding shares, while enabling us to continue and expand our commitment to new business development opportunities”
The specific number of shares to be repurchased will be determined by the discounted volume-weighted average price of the stock during the term of the agreement, subject to collar provisions that establish the minimum and maximum price. The transaction is expected to be completed no later than the fourth quarter of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2011. All of the purchased shares will be retired. Prior to issuance of this press release, no trading activity has occurred in the public market related to this share repurchase program.
"We ended fiscal year 2010 with a strong cash position of approximately $4 billion, which enables us to embrace a capital deployment strategy that increases per share earnings by reducing outstanding shares, while enabling us to continue and expand our commitment to new business development opportunities," said Howard Solomon, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Forest. "Today's announcement reflects our commitment to continue to create value for our shareholders."