8-K

CRH PUBLIC LTD CO 8-K Report (Jan 17, 2008)

Filed January 17, 2008For Securities:CRH

Summary

CRH Public Limited Company (CRH) filed a Form 6-K on January 17, 2008, reporting on transactions involving its own shares that occurred on January 16, 2008. The company announced a share repurchase program where UBS Limited, on behalf of CRH, purchased 97,440 ordinary shares at prices ranging from EUR22.00 to EUR23.00 per share. These repurchased shares are to be held as treasury shares. Additionally, CRH transferred 179 ordinary shares to an employee share scheme participant at a price of EUR17.99 per share.

Key Highlights

  • 1CRH repurchased 97,440 ordinary shares on January 16, 2008, as part of a share repurchase program.
  • 2The share repurchases were executed by UBS Limited on behalf of CRH.
  • 3The purchase price for the repurchased shares ranged between EUR22.00 and EUR23.00 per share.
  • 4The acquired shares will be held as treasury shares.
  • 5CRH transferred 179 ordinary shares to an employee share scheme participant.
  • 6The transfer price for employee shares was EUR17.99 per share.
  • 7Following these transactions, CRH holds 689,560 ordinary shares in treasury, with 546,537,634 ordinary shares in issue (excluding treasury shares).

Frequently Asked Questions

The filing does not explicitly state the purpose of the share repurchase program. However, companies typically undertake share repurchases to reduce the number of outstanding shares, potentially increasing earnings per share, or to return capital to shareholders.

Treasury shares are shares that a company has repurchased from the open market. CRH holds these shares as treasury shares, which means they are not considered outstanding for voting or dividend purposes and can be reissued later, for example, to satisfy employee stock options or other corporate needs.

The repurchase of 97,440 shares and the transfer of 179 shares will slightly reduce the total number of shares in issue. Specifically, the repurchase reduces the outstanding shares by 97,440, which are then held as treasury shares. The transfer to the employee scheme also represents a movement of shares. The net effect on the number of shares outstanding (excluding treasury shares) is a reduction.

The filing indicates a 'transfer' of shares to a participant of an employee share scheme at a specific price. This suggests that these shares were either previously authorized but unissued, or they were acquired by the company (potentially from treasury shares or market purchases) and then allocated to employees as part of their compensation or incentive plans.