Atlanta, GA, December 14, 2006--Home Depot said its board of directors has authorized the immediate repurchase of $3 billion of outstanding shares through an accelerated share repurchase agreement.
Including today's repurchase, the Company has returned approximately $6.7 billion of cash to shareholders this fiscal year by repurchasing more than 173 million shares.
Today's accelerated share repurchase, together with the 125 percent increase in the quarterly dividend this year, demonstrates the company's commitment to generating shareholder returns," said Bob Nardelli, chairman, president & CEO. "Our strong balance sheet and clear growth strategy allow us to reinvest in our business and also return cash to our shareholders."
The accelerated share repurchase will be funded with proceeds from the company's recent $5 billion debt offering. The $5 billion of debt capital will be issued through fixed-rate and floating-rate notes with a blended yield of 5.74 percent and a weighted average maturity of 20 years.
The company has entered into an accelerated share repurchase agreement which provides for the immediate purchase of approximately 75 million shares, bringing the total number of shares purchased since 2002 to more than 450 million or roughly 19 percent of outstanding shares. Since 2001, the company has invested more than $20.0 billion back into the business, while also returning over $20.3 billion to shareholders in the form of share repurchases and dividends. This demonstrates its balanced approach to generating shareholder returns through business investments and cash returns. The company's strong financial discipline is also evidenced by a return on invested capital of 22.3 percent as of the third quarter of fiscal year 2006.
