AOL to buy back $600m of stock, issue a one-time cash dividend of $5.15 per share

Internet media and services firm AOL this morning announced that it has entered into the final phase of its structured plan to return $1.1 billion to its shareholders.

Earlier this year, AOL struck a deal with Microsoft for the latter to buy more than 800 of its patents and license 300 additional patents and applications for $1 billion in cash, money the company has repeatedly promised to return to shareholders.

Also read: AOL sees $531 million in revenue in Q2, its lowest revenue decline in 7 years

AOL initially bought back $400 million worth of shares of its common stock in late June 2012.

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The company says it has now reached a $600 million fixed-dollar collared ‘Accelerated Stock Repurchase Agreement’ with Barclays Bank and received authorization for a ‘special’ one-time cash dividend of $5.15 per share.

AOL will pay the $600 million at the beginning of the agreement and expects to receive shares throughout the remainder of the year. The company will get substantial majority of the shares underlying the transaction before year-end, including approximately 4 million shares that Barclays will deliver to AOL on August 30, 2012.

The dividend of $5.15 per share will be payable on December 14, 2012.

For your background: AOL was spun off as from Time Warner and became an independent public company back in December 2009.