Panera Bread Company has announced that it has 73 signed letters of intent to sell off its own company owned cafes. The company had stated earlier that it intend to sell off 150 units with the proceeds from the refranchisings to be used for the repurchase of company shares. Panera also stated that will increase its current share repurchasing program to $750 million. The company expects to buy back $500 million worth of shares over the next 12 months using available and operational cash. Panera has repurchased about $511 million in common stock since 2012.
