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DaVita Board Approves Buyback of Shares

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Bloomberg News

DaVita Inc., the second-biggest operator of kidney dialysis clinics in the U.S., said its board authorized the buyback of as much as $225 million of its shares over 18 months.

The Torrance-based company also said shareholders had offered 21 million shares for as much as $24 a share in a tender offer that expired Thursday.

Concerns about a government subpoena, higher costs for Amgen Inc.’s anemia drug Epogen, used in DaVita clinics, and 2003 profit projections may have led more shareholders to tender shares, said Andreas Dirnagl, a Gerard Klauer Mattison & Co. analyst.

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Shares of DaVita rose 77 cents to $23.30 in Big Board trading.

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