News

13 September 2010

 

Lam announces $250m stock repurchase program

The board of directors of plasma etch and wafer-cleaning equipment maker Lam Research Corp of Fremont, CA, USA has authorized the repurchase of up to $250m of the firm's common stock (which trades on The NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol LRCX), either from the public market or in private purchases. A previous stock repurchase program of the same size was announced almost exactly two years ago, in September 2008.

The latest program may be suspended or discontinued at any time, and will be funded using available cash. As of 27 June, Lam had about $992m in total gross cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments and restricted cash and investments, and as of 13 August had about 124 million shares outstanding.

“This decision illustrates our confidence in the continued growth and cash generation performance of the company,“ says president & CEO Steve Newberry. “A stock buyback is an effective way of returning value to Lam’s shareholders,” he concludes.

Lam appoints Eric K. Brandt to board

Lam Research says that Eric K. Brandt has joined its board of directors. Brandt has been executive VP & chief financial officer of Broadcom Corp since March 2007. From September 2005 to March 2007, he was president & CEO of Avanir Pharmaceuticals. Previously, Brandt was executive VP-finance and technical operations & chief financial officer of Allergan Inc, a global specialty pharmaceutical and medical device company, where he also held a number of other senior positions following his arrival there in 1999. He previously spent ten years with The Boston Consulting Group, a privately held global business consulting firm, most recently as VP & partner.

Brandt is currently a member of the board of directors of public company Dentsply International Inc. He has also been a board member of public companies Avanir and of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc (where he was chair of the audit committee).

Brandt earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Master of Business Administration Degree from the Harvard Business School.

“Eric’s wealth of management experience, combined with his extensive financial and semiconductor industry experience, offers a unique perspective that will be an asset to the board,” comments executive chairman James W. Bagley.

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