(By Balaseshan) ONEOK Inc. (NYSE:OKE), a diversified energy company, said it repurchased about 3.6 million shares from a unit of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE:GS).
The share buyback was based on OKE's previous closing price of $41.19, of which 80% of the shares will be received immediately.
ONEOK has entered into a $150 million accelerated share repurchase agreement with Goldman Sachs, which borrowed the shares sold to ONEOK and would buy shares in the open market to settle its borrowings.
The accelerated share repurchase was funded by the company's available cash and short-term borrowings.
The repurchase agreement provides for an adjustment based on the volume-weighted average price, less a discount, of the shares over the course of a repurchase period that expires on or before the end of 2012.
The accelerated repurchase was completed under the company's previously announced three-year stock repurchase program in which the board of directors authorized the company to buy up to $750 million of issued and outstanding common stock, subject to the limitation that purchases will not exceed $300 million in any one calendar year.
The repurchase program will terminate upon completion of the repurchase of $750 million of common stock or on December 31, 2013, whichever occurs first.
In August 2011, the company completed a $300 million accelerated share-repurchase agreement under the program.
Chief Executive John Gibson said this second repurchase of shares under the company's previously announced stock repurchase program is a continuation of its ongoing commitment to increase value for its shareholders and deliver attractive returns on their investment.
The company is the general partner and owns 43.4% of ONEOK Partners L.P. (NYSE:OKS), which is a leader in the gathering, processing, storage and transportation of natural gas in the U.S. and owns one of the nation's premier natural gas liquids (NGL) systems, connecting NGL supply in the Mid-Continent and Rocky Mountain regions with key market centers.
OKE is trading up 0.41% at $41.36 on Tuesday. The stock has been trading between $29.31 and $44.81 for the past 52 weeks.