Stockholders' Equity

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2014

Equity [Abstract]

Stockholders' Equity

Stockholders' Equity

Changes to the number of shares of capital stock issued were as follows:

	Common stock issued		Exchangeable shares issued
	Class A	Class B(1)	Class A	Class B
	(Share amounts in millions)
Balance at December 31, 2011	2.6	162.7	2.9	19.3
Shares issued under equity compensation plans	—	1.5	—	—
Balance at December 29, 2012	2.6	164.2	2.9	19.3
Shares issued under equity compensation plans	—	2.7	—	—
Shares exchanged for common stock	—	0.3	—	(0.3	)
Balance at December 31, 2013	2.6	167.2	2.9	19.0
Shares issued under equity compensation plans	—	1.3	—	—
Shares exchanged for common stock	—	1.4	—	(1.4	)
Balance at December 31, 2014	2.6	169.9	2.9	17.6

(1) During 2011, we repurchased Class B common shares which results in a lower number of outstanding shares compared to issued shares. See "Share Repurchase Program" below for further discussion. For all other classes, issued shares equal outstanding shares.

Exchangeable Shares

The Class A exchangeable shares and Class B exchangeable shares were issued by Molson Coors Canada Inc. ("MCCI") a wholly-owned subsidiary. The exchangeable shares are substantially the economic equivalent of the corresponding shares of Class A and Class B common stock that a Molson shareholder would have received in the Merger if the holder had elected to receive shares of Molson Coors common stock. Holders of exchangeable shares also receive, through a voting trust, the benefit of Molson Coors voting rights, entitling the holder to one vote on the same basis and in the same circumstances as one corresponding share of Molson Coors common stock.

Voting Rights

Each holder of record of Class A common stock, Class B common stock, Class A exchangeable shares and Class B exchangeable shares is entitled to one vote for each share held, without the ability to cumulate votes on the election of directors. Our Class B common stock has fewer voting rights than our Class A common stock and holders of our Class A common stock have the ability to effectively control or have a significant influence over company actions requiring stockholder approval. Specifically, holders of Class B common stock voting together as a single class have the right to elect three directors of the Molson Coors Board of Directors, as well as the right to vote on certain additional matters as outlined in the our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (as amended, the “Certificate”), such as merger agreements that require approval under applicable law, sales of all or substantially all of the our assets to unaffiliated third parties, proposals to dissolve MCBC, and certain amendments to the Certificate that require approval under applicable law, each as further described and limited by the Certificate. The Certificate also provides that holders of Class A common stock and Class B common stock shall vote together as a single class, on an advisory basis, on any proposal to approve the compensation of MCBC's named executive officers.

Conversion Rights

The Certificate provides for the right of holders of Class A common stock to convert their stock into Class B common stock on a one-for-one basis at any time. The exchangeable shares are exchangeable at any time, at the option of the holder on a one-for-one basis for corresponding shares of Molson Coors common stock.

Share Repurchase Program

On February 10, 2015, we announced that our Board of Directors approved and authorized a new program to repurchase up to $1.0 billion of our Class A and Class B common stock. The program has an expected term of four years from the date of our announcement and we plan to repurchase our stock, principally in the open market or through privately negotiated transactions. Concurrent with the announcement of this new program, we terminated our previously existing program that was announced in 2011 for the repurchase up to $1.2 billion of our Class A and Class B common stock. We purchased a total of 7.5 million shares of our Class B common stock under the previously existing share repurchase program as of December 31, 2014, for $321.1 million. There were no repurchases in 2014, 2013 or 2012.