4. The stock repurchase program: Due to the highly uncertain nature of its operations, MoGen had never issued dividends to shareholders but instead had chosen to pursue a stock repurchase program. Senior management felt that this demonstrated a strong belief in the company’s future and was an effective way to return cash to shareholders without being held to the expectation of having a regular dividend payout. Due to strong operational and financial performance over the past several years, MoGen had executed several billion dollars worth of stock repurchases, and it was management’s intent to continue repurchases over the next few years. In 2005, MoGen purchased a total of 63.2 million shares for an aggregate $4.4 billion. As of December 31, 2005, MoGen had $6.5 billion remaining in the authorized share repurchase plan, of which managem3.5 billion in 2006.