Following yesterday’s shock decision by Air Products to withdraw its acquisition offer for Airgas, Inc., the firm has responded by announcing a significant stock repurchase program.
Just yesterday, the north american company Airgas adopted a program to repurchase up to $300m of its outstanding shares of common stock. According to Airgas, as of 15th February 2011, Airgas had approximately 84.2 million common shares outstanding.
Peter McCausland, Airgas CEO explained that this action reflects the company’s positive horizons, $quot;This new share repurchase program reflects our confidence in the future, based on our favourable business trends, solid balance sheet, and strong cash flow. We believe we can continue to fund our growth strategies while realising attractive earnings accretion from share repurchases.”
In a public statement Airgas confirmed its intentions and outlined its forthcoming program. The company stated, $quot;Airgas may repurchase shares from time to time for cash in open market transactions or in privately-negotiated transactions in accordance with applicable federal securities laws. The Company will determine the timing and the amount of any repurchases based on its evaluation of market conditions, share price and other factors. The stock repurchase program will be funded under the Company’s existing credit facility, has no pre-established closing date, and may be suspended or discontinued at any time.$quot;
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