Shareholders' Equity

12 Months Ended

Oct. 25, 2013

Equity [Abstract]

Shareholders' Equity

Shareholders’ Equity

We have 150,000,000 shares of authorized common stock, par value $1.00 per share, 50,000,000 of which were distributed in connection with our July 12, 2001 emergence from bankruptcy. The last distribution of 1,233,423 shares (2,775,111 shares after January 21, 2005 and December 12, 2005 stock splits) was distributed starting on January 28, 2005, in accordance with the Plan of Reorganization.

On August 28, 2013, our Board of Directors authorized the Company to repurchase up to $1.0 billion in shares of common stock until August 19, 2016. Under the program, the Company may repurchase shares in the open market in accordance with applicable SEC rules and regulations. During fourth quarter of fiscal 2013, we purchased 4,105,000 shares of common stock for approximately $214.1 million.

Under our prior share repurchase program, management had repurchased 1,890,000 shares of common stock for $93.6 million in September 2008. These shares were held in a brokerage account at Lehman Brothers Inc. (“LBI”), which subsequently filed for liquidation on September 19, 2008. The liquidation of LBI was administered by a court-appointed trustee (“SIPA Trustee”), pursuant to the Securities Investors Protection Act of 1970 and Chapter 7 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. Our claim with respect to the shares in the LBI brokerage account, together with dividends paid on such shares, was allowed by the SIPA Trustee on March 25, 2009. These shares, along with the cash from dividends paid since September 19, 2008 totaling $6.0 million, were returned to us as part of these proceedings on June 13, 2013.