Northrop Grumman To Repurchase $1 Bln Of Shares

(RTTNews) - Northrop Grumman Corp. (NOC) said that it has reached an accelerated share repurchase agreement with Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC to repurchase $1 billion of Northrop Grumman's common stock.

Northrop stated that it continues to target returning well over 100% of its free cash flow to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases in 2024.

As per the accelerated share repurchase agreement, Northrop Grumman expects to receive an initial delivery of approximately 1.8 million shares on January 31, representing approximately 80 percent of the expected share repurchases under the ASR agreement, based on the company's closing price of $438.31 on January 29, 2024.

The final number of shares to be repurchased through the ASR will be based on Northrop Grumman's volume-weighted average price during the term of the transaction, less a discount, and is expected to be completed no later than the second quarter of 2024.

The ASR will be completed under the company's current share repurchase authorization, which currently has about $3.6 billion remaining.

In a Separate press release, Northrop Grumman said that it has priced a $2.5 billion underwritten public offering of senior unsecured notes. The notes include $500 million of 4.600% senior notes due 2029; $850 million of 4.900% senior notes due 2034; $1.15 billion of 5.200% senior notes due 2054.

Northrop Grumman expects to use the net proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes, which may include debt repayment, share repurchases and working capital. The offering is expected to close on January 31, 2024.