America Online is seeking shareholders’ permission to more than triple the number of authorized shares outstanding, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The authorization would enable AOL to declare another stock split, something it has done six times since 1994. It would also give the company considerably more flexibility in making acquisitions.
Last year, AOL shareholders authorized the company to triple its shares from 600 million to 1.8 billion. The new request would take the overall authorization to 6 billion. As of August 31, the company had 1.11 billion shares outstanding, leaving it with 688 million under the current authorization. AOL says that most of those shares have already been earmarked for things such as company option plans.
