Like many companies, Caravan International occasionally repurchases its shares in the open market. With a traditional stock repurchase program, Caravan and other companies sometimes are unable to maximize the financial reporting benefits of stock buybacks. However, the “Accelerated Share Repurchase” (ASR) agreement, recently introduced by the investment banking industry, allows companies to execute their treasury stock programs and take some of the uncertainty out of share repurchase transactions. This case provides a context for examining the specific benefits of these plans as well as the potential risks. It will help you understand earnings per share (EPS) calculations and the accounting for financial instruments used in ASRs. The case illustrates how managers sometimes structure transactions to take advantage of favorable accounting treatment, and thus achieve EPS targets.
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1 February 2008
