DaVita Board Approves Buyback of Shares
Bloomberg News
DaVita Inc., the second-biggest operator of kidney dialysis clinics in the U.S., said its board authorized the buyback of as much as $225 million of its shares over 18 months.
The Torrance-based company also said shareholders had offered 21 million shares for as much as $24 a share in a tender offer that expired Thursday.
Concerns about a government subpoena, higher costs for Amgen Inc.’s anemia drug Epogen, used in DaVita clinics, and 2003 profit projections may have led more shareholders to tender shares, said Andreas Dirnagl, a Gerard Klauer Mattison & Co. analyst.
Shares of DaVita rose 77 cents to $23.30 in Big Board trading.
