Tenneco Inc. (NYSE: TEN) announced that the company’s board of directors has expanded the company’s share repurchase plan, authorizing the repurchase of an additional $200 million of the company’s outstanding common stock as part of the company’s overall capital allocation strategy. This authorization is in addition to the $350 million share repurchase program the company announced in February 2015.
“Expanding our share repurchase program demonstrates Tenneco’s commitment to delivering value to our shareholders,” said Gregg Sherrill, chairman and CEO, Tenneco. “Our strategy, strong execution and financial position allow Tenneco to move forward aggressively with our capital allocation strategy to fund strategic growth opportunities and deliver returns to shareholders while continuing to invest in organic growth and our cost leadership initiatives.”
Year-to-date through the third quarter, Tenneco has repurchased a total of 3.1 million shares for $158 million as part of its previously announced $350 million share repurchase program, which the company expects to complete by the end of 2016. Tenneco anticipates completing the additional $200 million share repurchase authorization by the end of 2017.
Since beginning its share repurchase activity in 2011, Tenneco has returned more than $241 million to shareholders through the repurchase of 5.1 million shares through the third quarter of 2015, or approximately 8% of shares outstanding.
The company anticipates acquiring the shares through open market or privately negotiated transactions, which will be funded through cash from operations. The repurchase program does not obligate Tenneco to make repurchases within any specific time or situations, and opportunities in higher priority areas could affect the cadence of this program.
