Brooks plans "Dutch auction" of shares
Chip manufacturing equipment maker Brooks Automation Inc. said today that it plans a modified "Dutch auction" self-tender offer to buy up to 6,060,000 shares of its common stock.
In a "Dutch auction," a company sets a price range and shareholders submit an offer to sell their shares at a price within the range. The company then determines the price, based on the submitted offers, that allows it to buy back the allotted number of shares.
The company will purchase the shares at a range of $16.50 to $19 per share. The high end of the range represents a 12.4 percent premium to Wednesday's closing price of $16.90 per share.
The offer will begin Friday and is expected to go through June 28. The company said it planned the offer after the recent sale of a division strengthened its cash assets.
The number of shares proposed to be purchased represents about 8 percent of the company's approximately 75.8 million shares in outstanding stock.
Shares rose 82 cents, or 4.9 percent, to $17.72 in premarket electronic trading. The stock has traded between $10.56 and $18.40 in the past 52 weeks.
