Fidelity recently bought back stock
BOSTON, June 28 (Reuters) - Fidelity Investments, the biggest U.S. mutual fund company, said on Thursday it bought back preferred shares from stockholders recently.
Stockholders at the privately-held company approved an exchange of preferred shares for other instruments, including long-term notes and cash, Fidelity spokeswoman Anne Crowley said.
She said the recent move, completed last Friday, helps simplify Fidelity's capital structure to "give us the future flexibility to maintain a growing business and better serve our customers and clients."
Six months months ago, Fidelity shareholders completed a similar move, exchanging another class of preferred stock for $1.17 billion of non voting common stock and $2.59 billion in 30-year notes and cash, she confirmed.
Independent analysts who watch Fidelity's moves have long speculated the Boston-based company might want to change its ownership structure to eventually reduce its corporate tax bills.
Crowley declined to comment on the company's confidential tax matters or speculate on what Fidelity may or may not do in the future.
Fidelity chairman Edward Johnson's father founded the company 61 years ago and the family controls 49 percent of the voting stock with Fidelity employees controlling the other 51 percent.
