MONTREAL, Jan. 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CN (TSX: CNR) (NYSE: CNI) announced today that its Board of Directors has approved the repurchase of its shares under a new normal course issuer bid (Bid), as well as a 19 per cent increase in the 2022 dividend on the Company's common shares outstanding.
The Bid, in the range of C$5 billion, permits CN to purchase, for cancellation, over a 12-month period up to 42 million common shares, representing 6.80 per cent of the 618,826,610 common shares issued and outstanding of the Company not held by insiders on January 18, 2022. On that date, 701,740,872 CN common shares were issued and outstanding.
Ghislain Houle, CN executive vice-president and chief financial officer, said: “Together with our strong fourth quarter financial and operating performance, the approval of our new share repurchase plan and the 26th annual increase in our dividend reflect the strength of our business and the ongoing successful execution of the Strategic Plan announced in September.”
The Bid will be conducted between February 1, 2022 and January 31, 2023 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, 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 approval 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 304,263 common shares under the Bid.
CN believes that the repurchase of its shares represents an appropriate and beneficial use of the Company's funds.
CN's current normal course issuer bid announced in January 2021 for the purchase of up to 14 million common shares expires on January 31, 2022. As at the close of trading on January 18, 2022, CN had repurchased 10,648,647 common shares at a weighted-average price of C$153.70 per share, excluding brokerage fees, returning C$1,637 million to its shareholders. Purchases were made on the open market. CN paused its share repurchases between the end of April 2021 and end of September 2021 while in the process to obtain approval for the merger agreement with Kansas City Southern.
CN's Board of Directors also approved a first-quarter 2022 dividend on the Company's common shares outstanding. A quarterly dividend of seventy-three and a quarter cents (C$0.7325) per common share will be paid on March 31, 2022, to shareholders of record at the close of business on March 10, 2022.
https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2022/01/25/2373031/0/en/CN-announces-new-normal-course-issuer-bid-for-share-repurchase-and-19-per-cent-dividend-increase.html