Armstrong World Industries (Lancaster, Pa.) has declared the $500 million special cash dividend for shareholders that it announced it was considering earlier this month.
Armstrong World Industries (Lancaster, Pa.) has declared the $500 million special cash dividend for shareholders that it announced it was considering earlier this month.
The dividend will be paid on April 10, and Armstrong has set the ex-dividend date at March 30; to be eligible for the dividend, an investor must own the stock before the ex-dividend date. To finance the dividend, Armstrong will use surplus cash and take on more debt; the company's senior credit facility will grow from $1.05 billion to $1.3 billion.
The upcoming payment will mark the third such special dividend the company has declared after emerging from bankruptcy in 2006 when it became a new corporation with new stock, according to LancasterOnline.com. The first came in 2008, totaling $4.50 per share, shortly after a plan to sell the company went nowhere. The second payment, totaling $13.74 per share, came a year after a private equity firm bought a 14 percent stake in Armstrong.
Armstrong first announced that it was considering paying the special dividend on March 14. Armstrong's stock was trading at $33.46 since early October, according to Business Week. Since then, it has gained about 70 percent, steadily rising on the back of an improving housing market.
To that end, Armstrong also announced it will hire 95 workers for a second shift to complement its first and third shifts at its plant in Jackson, Tenn.