Merck puts $10bn of stock up for resale

Merck Sharp & Dohme has announced that its board of directors is releasing an additional $10 billion (6.7 billion pounds) worth of stock for shareholders to repurchase.

There is no time limit determining when investors need to buy this treasury stock by, meaning they can make purchases via open-market, privately negotiated or block negotiations.

With this latest release, the total authorised amount that shareholders can purchase now stands at around $11.7 billion, as $1.7 billion was made available by the company in May 2013.

Kenneth C Frazier, chairman and chief executive officer of Merck, commented: "The combination of this share repurchase programme and our strong dividend reflects our ongoing commitment to returning cash and delivering value to shareholders."

He added that the move also shows that the pharmaceutical firm is confident regarding its strategy for the future.

A statement from the organisation said that by the end of 2015, it expects its average outstanding diluted shares to total around 2.86 billion.