CNI - CN Announces New Normal Course Issuer Bid for Share Repurchase and 7% Dividend Increase | Benzinga
MONTREAL, Jan. 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CN (TSX:CNR) (NYSE:CNI) announced today that its Board of Directors has approved a 7% increase in the 2024 dividend on the Company's common shares outstanding as well as the repurchase of its shares under a new normal course issuer bid (Bid).
The Bid permits CN to purchase, for cancellation, over a 12-month period up to 32 million common shares, representing 5.63% of the 568,002,080 common shares issued and outstanding of the Company not held by insiders on January 18, 2024. On that date, 642,832,885 common shares were issued and outstanding.
"CN has continued to deliver good financial results and free cash flow despite challenging market conditions. Our performance and expectations support maintaining our uninterrupted growth in dividends since privatization. We are also announcing a new share repurchase program that is consistent with the announcement we made at our May investor day to gradually increase our leverage over time, subject to economic conditions." - Ghislain Houle, Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer, CN
The Bid will be conducted between February 1, 2024 and January 31, 2025 through a combination of discretionary transactions and automatic repurchase plans at market prices prevailing at the time of purchase, through the facilities of the Toronto and New York stock exchanges, or alternative trading systems in Canada and in the United States, if eligible, and will conform to their regulations. Purchases may also be conducted using derivative-based programs, accelerated share repurchase transactions, or other methods of acquiring shares, subject to any required regulatory and stock exchange approvals and on such terms and at such times as shall be permitted by applicable laws.
The decisions regarding the timing and size of future purchases of common shares under the Bid are subject to management's discretion and are based on a variety of factors, including market conditions. The new Bid was approved by the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) today. TSX rules permit CN to purchase daily, through TSX facilities, a maximum of 263,790 common ...