Symantec Announces Next Phase of $5.5 Billion Capital Return Program
March 22 2016 - 8:00AM
Business Wire
Launches $1.0 Billion Accelerated Share
Repurchase Transaction; First in Series of Share Buyback
Transactions Totaling $2.3 Billion
Symantec Corp. (NASDAQ:SYMC) today announced the next phase of
its $5.5 billion capital return program by launching a $1.0 billion
accelerated share repurchase (ASR) transaction. This transaction is
the first of what will be a series of buyback transactions totaling
$2.3 billion that the Symantec Board is committed to executing
between March 2016 and March 2017.
As previously announced in February 2016, and consistent with
its commitment to returning significant capital to shareholders,
the Symantec Board declared a special dividend of $4.00 per share,
equaling approximately $2.7 billion, which is payable today, March
22nd, 2016, out of the earnings and profits of the company, to
shareholders of record as of the close of business on March 8th,
2016.
Following payment of the $4.00 special dividend and completion
of the $1.0 billion ASR transaction, the total amount of capital
returned to shareholders under the $5.5 billion capital return
program will equal $4.2 billion. This includes the $500 million ASR
transaction that was completed in January 2016. Symantec will
return the remaining $1.3 billion under the capital program through
a series of share buyback transactions by the end of March
2017.
Today’s announced ASR transaction and previously announced
special dividend will be funded through a combination of cash on
hand and proceeds from the $500 million Silver Lake investment
which closed on March 4th, 2016.
Michael A. Brown, Symantec president and CEO, said, “The
Symantec Board and management team remain committed to returning
the full $5.5 billion in capital to shareholders by the end of
March 2017. To that end, any acquisition opportunity we may pursue
will not be at the expense of our capital return plans. In
addition, any material acquisition opportunity will also have to
meet the strict criteria of both accelerating our Unified Security
strategy and creating a clear return for shareholders. The series
of share buyback transactions announced today reinforces this
commitment and demonstrates the Board’s confidence in Symantec’s
long-term prospects.”
Brown added, “Our management team has already taken significant
steps to improve operating margins and return our enterprise
security business to revenue growth as part of our three-year
transformation to a focused security company. As we look ahead, we
believe we are well-positioned to continue this momentum of
improving operating margins and achieving our targeted cost savings
of $400 million by the end of our fiscal year 2018.”
In connection with these cost reduction efforts, Symantec has
retained AlixPartners, a leading global business advisory firm, to
assist the Company as it works to improve productivity and identify
areas for cost savings.
About Symantec
Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ:SYMC) is the global leader in
cybersecurity. Operating one of the world’s largest cyber
intelligence networks, we see more threats, and protect more
customers from the next generation of attacks. We help companies,
governments and individuals secure their most important data
wherever it lives.
NOTE TO EDITORS: If you would like additional information
on Symantec Corporation and its products, please visit the Symantec
News Room at http://www.symantec.com/news.
Symantec and the Symantec Logo are trademarks or registered
trademarks of Symantec Corporation or its affiliates in the U.S.
and other countries. Other names may be trademarks of their
respective owners.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward looking statements regarding
the Company’s expected capital return, targeted cost savings and
future revenue growth, which may be considered forward-looking
within the meaning of the U.S. federal securities laws. These
statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties
and other factors that may cause our actual results to differ
materially from results expressed or implied herein. Such risk
factors include general economic conditions; fluctuations and
volatility in the Company’s stock price; the ability of the Company
to successfully execute strategic plans, including acquisitions or
strategic transactions; maintaining customer and partner
relationships; the competitive environment in the software
industry, fluctuations in tax rates and currency exchange rates;
the timing and market acceptance of new product releases and
upgrades; the successful development of new products, and the
degree to which these products and businesses gain market
acceptance. The Company assumes no obligation, and does not intend,
to update these forward-looking statements prior to reporting its
fourth quarter and fiscal year 2016 results. Additional information
concerning risks that could cause actual results to differ from
current expectations is contained in Risk Factors, set forth in
Part I, Item 1A of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the
fiscal year ended April 3, 2015.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160322005701/en/
MEDIA:Symantec Corp.Kristen Batch,
503-516-6297kristen_batch@symantec.comorINVESTORS:Symantec
Corp.Jonathan Doros, 650-527-5523jonathan_doros@symantec.com
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