DULUTH, Ga., July 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE: ABG), one of the largest automotive retail and services companies in the U.S., today announced that its Board of Directors has increased the size of the Company's share repurchase authorization to a total of $100 million of the Company's common stock. During the first half of the year, the Company repurchased 503,000 shares of its common stock for approximately $29.4 million. As of April 22, 2014, the Company had approximately 30.7 million shares outstanding.
Stock repurchases may be made in open market or privately negotiated transactions from time to time. The Company will base future repurchase decisions on such factors as Asbury's stock price, general economic and market conditions, the potential impact on its capital structure, and the expected return on competing uses of capital such as strategic dealership acquisitions and capital investments. Asbury gives no assurance as to the amount of repurchases to be made or the actual purchase prices.
About Asbury Automotive Group, Inc.
Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. ("Asbury"), a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Duluth, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta, is one of the largest automotive retailers in the U.S. Built through a combination of organic growth and a series of strategic acquisitions, Asbury currently operates 81 dealership locations, encompassing 102 franchises for the sale and servicing of 29 domestic and foreign brands of new vehicles. We also operate 24 collision repair centers and one stand-alone used vehicle store. Asbury offers customers an extensive range of automotive products and services, including new and used vehicle sales and related financing and insurance, vehicle maintenance and repair services, replacement parts and service contracts.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are statements other than historical fact, and may include statements relating to goals, plans, market conditions and projections regarding Asbury's financial position, liquidity, results of operations, market position and dealership portfolio, the benefits of its restructuring program and other initiatives and future business strategy. These statements are based on management's current expectations and beliefs and involve significant risks and uncertainties that may cause results to differ materially from those set forth in the statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, market factors, Asbury's relationships with, and the financial and operational stability of, vehicle manufacturers and other suppliers, acts of God or other incidents which may adversely impact supply from vehicle manufacturers and/or present retail sales challenges, risks associated with Asbury's indebtedness (including available borrowing capacity, compliance with its financial covenants and ability to refinance or repay such indebtedness, particularly upcoming maturities, on favorable terms), Asbury's relationships with, and the financial stability of, its lenders and lessors, risks related to competition in the automotive retail and service industries, general economic conditions both nationally and locally, governmental regulations, legislation, adverse results in litigation and other proceedings, and Asbury's ability to execute its IT initiatives and other operational strategies, Asbury's ability to leverage gains from its dealership portfolio, Asbury's ability to capitalize on opportunities to repurchase its debt and equity securities or purchase properties that it currently leases, and Asbury's ability to stay within its targeted range for capital expenditures. There can be no guarantees that Asbury's plans for future operations will be successfully implemented or that they will prove to be commercially successful.
These and other risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in our forward-looking statements are and will be discussed in Asbury's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time, including its most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequently filed quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
SOURCE Asbury Automotive Group, Inc.
