Fred’s Inc. Announces New Share Repurchase Program
January 30 2019 - 3:30PM
Fred’s, Inc. (“Fred’s” or “Company”) (NASDAQ:FRED) today announced
that its board of directors (the “Board”) has approved a new share
repurchase program in order to acquire up to 3.5 million shares of
the Company’s outstanding Class A voting common stock (the “common
stock”). The Company’s previous share repurchase program, which
allowed for the repurchase of up to 3.8 million shares of the
Company’s common stock, was completed on January 24, 2019.
Under the new program, the common stock may be purchased through
a combination of Rule 10b5-1 automatic trading plans and
discretionary purchases on the open market, block trades or in
privately negotiated transactions. The amount and timing of any
purchases will depend on a number of factors, including trading
price, trading volume, general market conditions, applicable legal
requirements and compliance with the terms of the Company’s current
and future indebtedness. No assurance can be given that any
particular amount of common stock will be repurchased. The new
repurchase program is valid for up to two years and may be
modified, extended or terminated by the Board at any time. The
Company intends to finance the repurchases with available cash and
with funds drawn from that certain Credit Agreement dated as of
April 9, 2015, as amended, by and among Fred’s, certain of its
subsidiaries, the lenders named therein and Regions Bank, as the
administrative agent.
About Fred’s, Inc. Since 1947, Fred’s Inc. has
been an integral part of the communities it serves throughout the
southeastern U.S. Today, Fred’s operates approximately 600 discount
value stores and its mission is to make it easy AND exciting to
save money. Its unique format offers customers a full range of
value-priced everyday items, along with terrific deals on closeout
merchandise throughout the store. For more information about the
Company, visit Fred’s website at www.fredsinc.com.
Forward Looking Statements Comments in this
news release that are not historical facts are forward-looking
statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause
actual results to differ materially from those projected in the
forward-looking statements. A reader can identify forward-looking
statements because they are not limited to historical facts or they
use such words as “outlook,” “guidance,” “may,” “should,” “could,”
“believe,” “anticipate,” “plan,” “expect,” “estimate,” “forecast,”
“goal,” “intend,” “committed,” “continue,” or “will likely result”
and similar expressions that concern the Company’s strategy, plans,
intentions or beliefs about future occurrences or results. These
risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to (i) the
competitive nature of the industries in which we operate; (ii) the
implementation of our strategic plan, and its impact on our sales,
costs and operations; (iii) utilizing our existing and new stores;
(iv) our reliance on a single supplier of pharmaceutical products;
(v) our pharmaceutical drug pricing; (vi) reimbursement rates and
the terms of our agreements with pharmacy benefit management
companies; (vii) our private brands; (viii) the seasonality of our
business and the impact of adverse weather conditions; (ix)
operational difficulties; (x) merchandise supply and pricing; (xi)
consumer demand and product mix; (xii) delayed openings and
operating new stores and distribution facilities; (xiii) our
employees; (xiv) risks relating to payment processing; (xv) our
computer system, and the processes supported by our information
technology infrastructure; (xvi) our ability to protect the
personal information of our customers and employees; (xvii)
cyber-attacks; (xviii) changes in governmental regulations; (xix)
the outcome of legal proceedings, including claims of product
liability; (xx) insurance costs; (xxi) tax assessments and
unclaimed property audits; (xxii) current economic conditions;
(xxiii) changes in third-party reimbursements; (xxiv) the terms of
our existing and future indebtedness; (xxv) any acquisitions we may
pursue and the ability to effectively integrate businesses that we
acquire; (xxvi) our ability to pay dividends; (xxvii) our ability
to attract and retain talented executives; (xxviii) statements
regarding the agreement pursuant to which Walgreen Co. will acquire
certain prescription files and related data and records, retail
pharmaceutical inventory, and certain other assets from us, the
transactions contemplated thereby, the possible timing and effects
thereof, and the ability of the parties to complete the
transactions considering the various closing conditions to which
such transactions are subject; and (xxix) the factors listed under
“Risk Factors” in the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form
10-K and any subsequent quarterly filings on Form 10-Q filed with
the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements
speak only as of the date made. The Company undertakes no
obligation to release revisions to these forward-looking statements
to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to
reflect the occurrence of unforeseen events, except as required to
be reported under the rules and regulations of the Securities and
Exchange Commission.
CONTACT: Fred’s, Inc. Tejal Patel, Fred’s, Inc. 1-318-348-8709
Tejal.patel@fredsinc.com
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