Ahead of the Bell: Cal Dive to repurchase stock

Cal Dive International Inc., which provides manned diving, platform installation, pipe burial and related services to offshore oil and gas companies, said it will buy back $86 million worth of the company's common stock from its majority stockholder Helix Energy Solutions Group Inc., cutting Helix's stake in Cal Dive to 51 percent from 57 percent.

Cal Dive said it entered the agreement with Helix, an oil services provider, on Sunday to repurchase 13,564,669 shares of its common stock at $6.34 per share.

The price is around a 2 percent discount to the 30-day average trading price as of Jan. 16, 2009. Cal Dive said it will fund the deal with its $300 million revolving credit facility. Houston-based Helix said it will use the proceeds for general corporate purposes.

The transaction was evaluated and approved by a committee of four directors of Cal Dive's board who are not also directors of Helix.

Shares of Cal Dive closed at $7.01 on Friday, off 54 percent its 52-week high of $15.24. Helix shares closed at $5.78 on Friday. Over the past 52 weeks the share price has ranged from $3.91 to $41.81.