NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Bio-Rad Laboratories said today that its board of directors has authorized a new share repurchase program, granting the company authority to repurchase up to $250 million of outstanding shares of its stock on a discretionary basis.
Repurchases may be made at management's discretion from time to time on the open market or through privately negotiated transactions, Bio-Rad said. The repurchase program has no time limit and may be suspended or discontinued at any time. Any shares acquired will be available for general corporate purposes, including supporting employee stock plans, funding acquisitions, and minimizing dilution from stock issuances.
Bio-Rad said the new share repurchase program supersedes the company's prior share repurchase program.
"We are pleased that our balance sheet and cash flow enable us to return value to our shareholders through share repurchases as we continue to invest in internal and external opportunities," Bio-Rad President and CEO Norman Schwartz said in a statement. "Earlier this year we discussed our capital allocation approach and a share repurchase program is part of this strategy."
Earlier this month Bio-Rad reported that its third quarter revenues grew 5 percent year over year or 3 percent on a currency-neutral basis.
As of Sept. 30, Bio-Rad had $328.9 million in cash and cash equivalents.