8-K

CRH PUBLIC LTD CO 8-K Report (May 16, 2008)

Filed May 16, 2008For Securities:CRH

Summary

CRH Public Limited Company (CRH) filed an 8-K report on May 15, 2008, detailing transactions in its own shares on May 14, 2008. The company announced the repurchase of 212,476 ordinary shares through UBS Limited at prices ranging from €23.528 to €24.00 per share. These repurchased shares are to be held as treasury shares. Additionally, CRH transferred 23,003 ordinary shares to participants in its employee share schemes at varying prices. These transactions have adjusted CRH's outstanding share count. Following these events, the company holds 10,592,205 ordinary shares in treasury, with the number of shares currently in issue (excluding treasury shares) standing at 537,528,231. This filing provides transparency to investors regarding CRH's share management activities, including buybacks and employee share plan distributions.

Key Highlights

  • 1CRH plc repurchased 212,476 ordinary shares on May 14, 2008, through UBS Limited.
  • 2Repurchased shares were bought at prices between €23.528 and €24.00.
  • 3The acquired shares will be classified and held as treasury shares.
  • 4CRH transferred 23,003 ordinary shares to participants in its employee share schemes.
  • 5Following these transactions, CRH holds 10,592,205 ordinary shares in treasury.
  • 6The number of ordinary shares in issue, excluding treasury shares, is 537,528,231.

Frequently Asked Questions

The main purpose of this 8-K filing was to report on CRH plc's transactions involving its own shares, specifically the repurchase of shares and the transfer of shares to employee participants.

Companies often repurchase their own shares for several reasons, including to reduce the number of outstanding shares which can potentially increase earnings per share (EPS), to return capital to shareholders, or to acquire shares for employee stock option plans or treasury stock. In this case, the shares were designated as treasury shares.

Treasury shares are shares that a company has repurchased from the open market. They are held by the company itself and are not considered outstanding for purposes such as voting or dividend distribution. Companies hold treasury shares for various strategic reasons, such as funding future employee stock purchase plans, mergers and acquisitions, or to offset dilution from stock options.

The repurchase of 212,476 shares reduces the number of shares outstanding, while the transfer of 23,003 shares to employees also represents a distribution of existing shares. The net effect on the outstanding share count (excluding treasury shares) is a reduction due to the buyback exceeding the shares transferred to employees, resulting in 537,528,231 shares in issue.