Asta Funding Inc., an Englewood Cliffs, N.J.-based public debt buyer, announced late Monday it had repurchased one million shares of its common stock from investment fund management firm Peters MacGregor Capital Management Pty. Ltd. in a privately negotiated deal. Peters MacGregor Capital is an Australian fund manager that specializes in global equities.
Asta paid $9.40 per share for the stock, a 6.5% premium over Monday’s closing price.
“Today’s announcement is a testament to our focus on per-share value creation,” Asta Chairman and CEO Gary Stern said. “We capitalized on a unique opportunity to repurchase stock at what we believe is an attractive price.”
Before the deal, Peters MacGregor owned 1,876,753 shares of its common stock, or approximately 12.8% of the company. The deal drops Peters MacGregor’s stake to 6%, according to Asta officials.
Asta's Board of Directors authorized the privately negotiated transaction, which is in addition to the company's 10b5-1 mandatory stock repurchase plan.
