Debt Buyer Asta Funding Repurchases 1 million Shares in Private Deal

Large debt buyer and collector Asta Funding, Inc. (Nasdaq: ASFI) announced late Monday that it had repurchased one million shares of its common stock from an investment fund management firm in a deal that was privately negotiated.

Asta said it paid $9.40 per share – a 6.5 percent premium over Monday’s closing price – for the stock. The seller was Peters MacGregor Capital Management Pty. Ltd, an Australian fund manager that specializes in global equities.

Asta noted that before the deal, Peters MacGregor owned 1,876,753 shares of its common stock, or approximately 12.8 percent of the company. The deal drops Peters MacGregor’s stake to 6 percent.

“Today’s announcement is a testament to our focus on per-share value creation,” said Gary Stern, Asta Chairman and CEO. “We capitalized on a unique opportunity to repurchase stock at what we believe is an attractive price.”

The company said it paid for the stock redemption using available cash on hand. Asta’s Board of Directors authorized the transaction, which is in addition to the company’s 10b5-1 mandatory stock repurchase plan.