Toys 'R' Us lifts buyback
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January 8, 1998: 10:30 a.m. ET
Premier toy retailer set to repurchase additional $1 billion of common stock
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Toys 'R' Us Inc. Thursday authorized a $1 billion buyback of its common stock over the next several years, supplementing another stock repurchase underway since 1994.
The Paramus, N.J.-based toy retailer said it repurchased more than 28 million shares valued at $1 billion under the 1994 plan. The company said $94 million of stock remains to be bought under that plan.
Under the latest buyback, the company said it also will set up a shareholder rights plan, entitling each stockholder to buy one share of common stock for $175.
The rights plan becomes exercisable if a person or group acquires ownership or announces a tender for 15 percent or more of the common stock.
Large-issue stock buybacks often indicate that a company is ripe for a takeover. But Toys 'R' Us (TOY) officials sought to dispel such speculation Thursday, saying in a statement that the sole goal of the repurchase is to "further increase stockholder value."
Toys 'R' Us also announced Thursday that its total holiday sales for the five-week period ended Jan. 3 increased 6 percent to $4.5 billion from $4,2 billion a year earlier.
Toys 'R' Us, the nation's premier retailer of children's products, operates 1,454 stores, including 441 franchises outside the United States.
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Toys `R' Us
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