Caterpillar Announces $1.5 Bln Accelerated Stock Buyback

(RTTNews) - Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) said Tuesday that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Citibank N.A. to purchase a total of $1.5 billion of its common stock under an accelerated stock repurchase deal.

Pursuant to the terms of the accelerated stock repurchase agreement, Caterpillar agreed to repurchase a total of $1.5 billion of its common stock from Citibank N.A., with an immediate delivery of about 18 million shares based on current market prices. The final number of shares to be repurchased and the aggregate cost per share to Caterpillar will be based on Caterpillar's volume-weighted average stock price during the term of the deal, which is expected to be completed in September.

In January 2014, the Caterpillar Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of $10 billion of stock, which will expire on December 31, 2018. Through the end of the second quarter of 2015, about $3 billion of the $10 billion authorization was spent.

Caterpillar Chairman and CEO Doug Oberhelman said, "Repurchasing an additional $1.5 billion of Caterpillar stock in the third quarter of 2015 will bring our total 2015 stock repurchases to approximately $2 billion. In addition to the stock repurchase, our Board of Directors recently raised the quarterly dividend by 10 percent, further demonstrating our commitment to stockholders."