A Diagnostics & Imaging Week

Techne (Minneapolis) reported that its board authorized the repurchase of up to $150 million of the company's common shares.

The company may repurchase shares from time to time on the open market or in private transactions, including purchases pursuant to one or more 10b5-1 plans or structured transactions. The share repurchase will be funded with a portion of the company's existing cash and available-for-sale investments.

As of Sept. 30, the company had cash and available-for-sale investments of about $279 million, no long-term debt and shareholders' equity in excess of $466 million. The company's prior share repurchase program, authorized in October 2002, has been terminated.

Techne has two operating subsidiaries: Research and Diagnostic Systems (Minneapolis) and R&D Systems Europe (Abingdon, UK).