Liberty Global Inc., the largest owner of cable-television systems outside the U.S., plans to buy back $500 million of its stock.
The company’s board authorized a plan to buy as many as 10 million Series A shares and 10.3 million Series C shares, Liberty Global said Tuesday in a statement. Liberty plans to pay $25 for each Series A share and $24.30 for Series C shares, about 11 percent higher than Monday’s closing prices.
Liberty Global, controlled by billionaire chairman John Malone, is trying to show investors confidence by promising to buy shares. The Series A shares were little changed this year through trading Monday and peaked at $27.35 on Sept. 16.
“This tender offer demonstrates the company’s commitment to investing in its equity,” Mike Fries, Liberty Global’s chief executive, said in the statement.
The Douglas County-based company said May 10 that first-quarter profits rose to $268.2 million, or 52 cents a share, from $16.5 million, or 5 cents a share, a year earlier on the sale of Norwegian assets. Sales rose 38 percent to $1.63 billion. Liberty Global has 14.2 million cable customers.
Its Series A shares rose 87 cents Tuesday to $23.43 in Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading.
