EDMONTON, AB, Dec. 20,
2022 /CNW/ - AutoCanada Inc. ("AutoCanada" or
the "Company") (TSX: ACQ), a multi-location North American
automobile dealership group, announced today that the Company
intends to file with the Toronto Stock Exchange ("TSX") a notice of
intention to commence a normal course issuer bid ("NCIB"), as part
of its overall capital allocation strategy. The NCIB renews the
existing NCIB, which is scheduled to terminate on December 22, 2022.
If accepted by the TSX, the Company would be permitted under the
NCIB to purchase for cancellation, through the facilities of the
TSX and/or alternative Canadian trading systems, up to 10% of the
Company's public float (calculated in accordance with TSX rules)
during the 12 months following such TSX acceptance. The exact
number of common shares subject to the NCIB will be determined on
the date of acceptance of the notice of intention by the TSX.
All common shares purchased by the Company under the NCIB will
be purchased at prevailing market prices in accordance with the
rules and policies of the TSX and applicable securities laws. The
actual number of common shares that may be purchased, and the
timing of any such purchases, will be determined by the Company,
subject to the applicable terms and limitations of the NCIB. All
common shares acquired by the Company under the NCIB will be
cancelled.
The NCIB will terminate one year after its commencement, or
earlier if the maximum number of common shares under the NCIB have
been purchased. Although the Company has a present intention to
acquire its common shares pursuant to the NCIB, the Company will
not be obligated to make any purchases and purchases may be
suspended by the Company at any time. The Company reserves the
right to terminate the NCIB earlier if it feels it is appropriate
to do so.
Pursuant to its existing NCIB, under which the Company has
approval from the TSX to purchase up to 1,730,321 common shares for
the period of December 23, 2021 to
December 22, 2022, the Company has
purchased 1,730,321 common shares on the TSX and alternative
trading systems at a weighted average purchase price of
$32.70 per common share.
About AutoCanada
AutoCanada is a leading North American multi-location automobile
dealership group currently operating 82 franchised dealerships,
comprised of 28 brands, in eight provinces in Canada as well as a group in Illinois, USA. AutoCanada currently sells
Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, FIAT, Alfa Romeo, Chevrolet, GMC,
Buick, Cadillac, Ford, Infiniti,
Nissan, Hyundai, Subaru, com Audi, Volkswagen, Kia, Mazda,
Mercedes-Benz, BMW, MINI, Volvo, Toyota, Lincoln, Acura, Honda and Porsche branded
vehicles. In addition, AutoCanada's Canadian Operations segment
currently operates three used vehicle dealerships and one used
vehicle auction business supporting the Used Digital Retail
Division, 11 RightRide division locations, and nine stand-alone
collision centres within our group of 24 collision centres. In
2021, our dealerships sold approximately 86,000 vehicles and
processed over 800,000 service and collision repair orders in our
1,303 service bays generating revenue in excess of $4 billion.
Additional information about AutoCanada is available at
www.autocan.ca and www.sedar.com
Certain statements contained in this press release are
forward-looking statements and information (collectively,
"forward-looking statements") within the meaning of the applicable
Canadian securities legislation. We hereby provide cautionary
statements identifying important factors that could cause our
actual results to differ materially from those projected in these
forward-looking statements. Any statements that express, or involve
discussions as to, expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives,
assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always,
through the use of words or phrases such as "will likely result",
"are expected to", "will continue", "is anticipated", "projection",
"vision", "goals", "objective", "target", "schedules", "outlook",
"anticipate", "expect", "estimate", "could", "should", "plan",
"seek", "may", "intend", "likely", "will", "believe" and similar
expressions) are not historical facts and are forward looking. In
particular, this press release contains forward-looking statements
with respect to, among other things, the intention to commence the
NCIB, and the intention to purchase common shares under the NCIB,
including the number of common shares to be purchased.
The forward-looking statements included in this press release
are not guarantees of future performance and should not be unduly
relied upon. Readers are cautioned that forward-looking statements
are based on current expectations, estimates and projections that,
by their nature, forward-looking statements involve a number of
known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual
results to differ materially from those anticipated and described
in the forward-looking statements. These known and unknown risks
and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: future operating
results, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our operations,
financial condition and liquidity and the duration of such impacts;
potential changes in the regulatory and legislative environment;
volatility in interest and tax rates; operating risks inherent in
the automotive retail industry; and changes in general economic
conditions including the capital and credit markets all of which
may affect the Company's ability to or decision to purchase common
shares under its NCIB.
Forward-looking statements involve estimates and assumptions
and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors some of
which are beyond our control and difficult to predict. Accordingly,
actual results or outcomes may differ materially from those
expressed in the forward-looking statements.
AutoCanada cautions that the foregoing list of assumptions,
risks and uncertainties is not exhaustive. The Company's Annual
Information Form and other documents filed with securities
regulatory authorities (accessible through the SEDAR website at
www.sedar.com) describe the risks, material assumptions and other
factors that could influence actual results and which are
incorporated herein by reference. The forward-looking statements
contained in this press release speak only as of the date hereof
and AutoCanada assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise
them to reflect new events or circumstances, except as may be
required pursuant to applicable securities laws.
SOURCE AutoCanada Inc.