NAPERVILLE, Ill. (AP) - Telecommunications equipment provider Tellabs Inc. introduced a new $600 million share buyback plan Thursday.
The program is in addition to $176.1 million left under a buyback plan authorized in July 2006. Based on closing prices Wednesday, the two plans would cover about 22 percent of Tellabs' stock now outstanding.
Tellabs will seek to buy the shares through open market purchases or in privately negotiated deals using about half of its $1.4 billion in cash, cash equivalents and securities.
Since 2005, the company said it has bought back 50.9 million shares at a cost of $513.9 million.
Shares of Tellabs, which also said President and CEO Krish Prabhu plans to step down in March, rose 19 cents, or 2.4 percent, to $8.21 in premarket trading.
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