BOISE — Albertsons Inc. said Tuesday its board of directors has adopted a new program authorizing the company to purchase up to $500 million of its common stock.
The buybacks may occur during 2003, the Boise-based supermarket chain said.
The prior stock purchase plan was adopted on Dec. 3, 2001, increased to $1 billion on Sept. 5, 2002, and will expire Dec. 31, 2002.
Under that plan, Albertsons had purchased 20.9 million shares of stock through Oct. 31, 2002, for a total cost of $547 million. The average cost was $26.18 per share, the company said.
Albertsons shares were at $22.06 in early trading Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange, up 7 cents. Currently outstanding are roughly 399 million shares.
Albertsons, which has annual revenue of about $38 billion, operates approximately 2,300 U.S. retail stores under banners including Albertsons, Jewel-Osco and Acme.