Stock Buybacks

Commercial real estate brokerage giant Grubb & Ellis Co., with its stock getting battered in a softening market, announced Friday that its chief executive had resigned and that it would repurchase as much as $25 million worth of its own stock. The Santa Ana company, which helps arrange sales and leases of such properties as office buildings, stores and warehouses, said CEO and President Scott D. Peters, 50, stepped down "to pursue other interests."

Carpinteria-based CKE Restaurants Inc., owner of the Carl's Jr. and Hardee's hamburger chains, will buy back 6.1% of its shares from hedge fund Pirate Capital, its biggest investor. The buyback of 4.07 million shares will cost $77.3 million, based on Monday's closing stock price of $18.97. Shares closed Tuesday at $19. Pirate Capital will no longer own a stake in the company after the sale, CKE said in a statement.

Tribune Co., Chicago-based parent of The Times, Wednesday launched its expected $4.3-billion tender offer for more than half of its shares. The offer is the first of a two-step leveraged buyout by Chicago billionaire Sam Zell and a new employee stock ownership plan.

Amgen Inc., the biotech giant known for betting big on potential blockbuster drugs, is rolling the dice again. The Thousand Oaks-based company said Wednesday that it planned to borrow $4 billion to buy back some of its faltering shares.

Home improvement retailer Home Depot Inc. said Tuesday that it would repurchase $22.5 billion in stock and sell its supply division to three private equity firms for $10.3 billion as it refocuses on its core retail business. The sale of HD Supply to Bain Capital Partners, Carlyle Group and Clayton, Dubilier & Rice unloads a business built up by the home improvement retailer's former chief executive. Shares of Home Depot rose $2, or 5.2%, to $40.

Online travel company Expedia Inc. said Tuesday that it would buy back more than a third of its shares for as much as $3.5 billion, paying a premium of at least 8% over the stock's closing price Monday. Expedia said it would repurchase 116.7 million shares at $27.50 to $30 each. The news sent Expedia shares up $3.64, or 14%, to $29.14. The price range that Expedia is willing to pay represents a premium of 8% to 18% over Monday's closing price of $25.50 a share.

Electronics retailer Best Buy Co. moved aggressively Wednesday to support its stock, saying it would immediately start a $5.5-billion buyback program and raise its quarterly dividend by nearly a third. It also said it was increasing its North American growth plans by 400 stores, bringing its target to 1,800. The Minneapolis-based company would provide no details on when it expected to hit those targets or where the stores would be.

Enriched from the sale of its wealth-management subsidiary, Charles Schwab Corp. said Monday that it would distribute $3.5 billion to its stockholders by buying back stock and paying a one-time dividend. Schwab shares jumped $1.48, or 7.2%, to $22 on the news. The San Francisco-based discount stockbrokerage plans to pay as much as $22.50 a share for its own stock -- 10% above last week's closing price. The buyback price is to be set through an auction that guarantees those who sell at least $19.

The oil business has rarely been so good. Crude prices closed at a new high Tuesday and gasoline-refining profits are more than double what they were a few years ago. It was no surprise, then, that last week's earnings reports showed that the cash had been rolling in at Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp. and overseas giants BP and Royal Dutch Shell. To some, the surprise is where that cash has been going.

Corporate America's stock-buyback machine has kicked into higher gear with the drop in share prices the last two weeks, new data show. That may have helped cushion the market's losses as some investors fled. Fifty-four companies announced stock buybacks last week, according to TrimTabs Investment Research in Santa Rosa, Calif. That was the most since the week of Sept. 17, 2001 -- when the market was plunging in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, TrimTabs said.