Stockholders' Equity

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2012

Stockholders' Equity Attributable to Parent [Abstract]

Stockholders' Equity Note Disclosure [Text Block]

Stockholders' Equity

The IFBF owns our Series B preferred stock. Each share of Series B preferred stock has a liquidation preference of $0.60 and voting rights identical to that of Class A common stock with the exception that each Series B share is entitled to two votes while each Class A share is entitled to one vote. The Series B preferred stock pays cumulative annual cash dividends of $0.03 per share, payable quarterly, and is redeemable by us, at our option, at $0.60 per share plus unpaid dividends if the stock ceases to be beneficially owned by a Farm Bureau organization.

Holders of the Class A common stock and Series B preferred stock vote together as a group in the election of Class A Directors (four to ten). The Class B common stock votes as a separate class to elect the Class B Directors (five to seven). Voting for the Directors is noncumulative. Ownership aspects of our Class B common stock are governed by a Class B Shareholder Agreement. The IFBF's ownership in the three classes of stock results in IFBF owning 72% of our voting stock as of December 31, 2012, and having the ability to control the company. Holders of Class A common stock and Class B common stock receive equal per-share common stock dividends.

In the fourth quarter of 2011, the Board of Directors approved a plan to repurchase up to $200.0 million of Class A common stock. In the fourth quarter of 2012, the Board of Directors approved additional repurchases up to $30.0 million of Class A common stock. These repurchase plans authorize us to make repurchases in the open market or through privately negotiated transactions, with the timing and terms of the purchases to be determined by management based on market conditions. We repurchased 5.5 million shares of stock for $181.9 million in 2012 and 0.4 million shares of stock for $13.6 million in 2011. Completion of this program is dependent on market conditions and other factors. There is no guarantee as to the exact timing of any repurchases or the number of shares, if any, that we will repurchase. The share repurchase program may be modified or terminated at any time without prior notice.