Ahold continues with share-buyback program

ZAANDAM, Netherlands — Ahold repurchased 3.3 million shares as part of a share-buyback program announced earlier this year, the Dutch supermarket operator said.

Ahold said it repurchased the shares at a price of $15.25 per share for a total of $50.2 million. The company operates the Stop & Shop, Giant Food of Landover, Md., and Giant Food Stores of Carlisle, Pa., supermarket chains and the Peapod grocery-delivery service in the United States, as well as several retail chains in Europe.

The repurchase was made as part of a $651.5 million buyback program announced in February and increased to $2.6 billion earlier this month. So far, the company has repurchased 18.5 million shares, with a total value of $287.92 million.

In other news, Bol.com, an Ahold-owned online retailer operating in the Netherlands, announced a deal with publishing house Singel Uitgevers called Brave New Books, which allows aspiring writers there to upload and publish books in e-book and paperback formats. The company expects 25,000 book titles to become available over the next three years.