Avista Corp. announces stock repurchase program

Avista Corp.'s board of directors has approved repurchasing as many as four million shares of the company's outstanding common stock, once it completes the sale of Ecova, Inc., announced May 29.

Repurchases of common stock will commence once Ecova sells, or July 7, whichever comes second, and will not continue past Dec. 31.

The company has entered into an agreement with a broker-dealer designed to comply with Rule 10b5-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Repurchases will be made by the broker-dealer at its discretion, consistent with pricing, timing and volume limitations contained in the agreement and the regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Repurchases will be made in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions. The agreement will expire Dec. 31, but could be terminated by the company before that date. There is no assurance that the goal of repurchasing four million shares will be achieved.

Repurchases of shares will be funded with the expected net proceeds from the planned sale of Ecova and other available cash on hand.