Thermo Electron Buys Its Own and Subsidiaries' Securities

The board of directors of Thermo Electron Corp.(Waltham, MA) has authorized the repurchase of up to $100 million of its own securities and those of its publicly held subsidiaries in the open market or in negotiated transactions. The company has extended the date of the previously-announced program from December 31, 1999 to through May 5, 2000 (see Thermo Electron Announces Stock Buyback).

The timing and amount of any repurchases will be at the discretion of the company's management and will be based on market conditions, maintaining the required ownership of such subsidiaries for accounting and/or tax consolidation purposes, and other corporate considerations. The company's stock was at 16 3/8 as of midday May 6.

This new authorization is in addition to about $28 million that remains under a previous authorization that expires in February 2000. Since January 1999, the company has spent approximately $102 million to repurchase its own and its subsidiaries' securities. These amounts do not include separate authorizations and repurchases directly by the company's majority-owned subsidiaries.

Last month, the company reported its fourth quarter and year-end financial results (see Income Drops For Thermo Electron), noting further tough times for the company.