Sybase Inc. has agreed to a $300 million share repurchase as part of an agreement with Sandell Asset Management Corp., a major shareholder, averting a proxy contest at Sybase's April 2008 annual meeting. The parties agreed Sybase will use a modified "Dutch auction" self-tender offer to purchase $300 million worth of its common stock at a price per share of not less than $28 and not greater than $30, the Dublin company said Tuesday. John Chen, Sybase's CEO and president said in a statement that he is pleased to resolve the issue. The stock trades for 8x cash flow.

IBM's board has approved the repurchase of shares worth $15 billion, which represents about 10% of the company's market value. The tech giant has about $400 million remaining under its previous plan and intends to use cash from operations for the repurchase. IBM has been continuously buying back shares, which indicates that it sees value here. It has spent $94 billion to repurchase 1.4 billion shares since 1995 and is looking at spending $12 billion of its authorized funds this year. Kim Caughey, senior equity analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Management, said, "(The buyback plan) implies they're going to have some serious cash generation." Despite the slowdown in the U.S., IBM has managed to grow on the back of its overseas operations and acquisitions. The company's net income jumped 12% to $3.95 billion, or $2.80 a share, in the fourth quarter, beating Wall Street expectations. Sales climbed 10% to $28.9 billion. It has been aggressively buying software companies over the past seven years, spending over $15 billion. In January, Cognos was acquired for $4.9 billion. IBM has turned toward emerging markets like China and India to propel its growth. And in December, the company said it will spend $1.6 billion on sales in these markets through 2010. IBM has raised its earnings guidance for 2008 to between $8.25 and $8.30 from its earlier forecast of between $8.20 and $8.30. The latest forecast is higher than what Wall Street was projecting. The company's stock has outperformed that of its rivals so far this year, and the buyback plans will support the shares, which, I believe, will yield healthy returns over the next 12-18 months.

PepsiCo announced a buyback plan earlier this month to purchase $4.3 billion worth of stock in 2008. Let's take a little closer look at the stock and see if it has anything to offer us. Net income and earnings are a good place to start. Pepsi's net income rose 2.1% to $3.4 billion last year, while its revenue climbed 12.3% to $39.5 billion. Excluding onetime items, the Purchase, New York-based company's earnings per share grew 12.7%. From a bigger-picture perspective, the soft economy has not caused jitters for the soft-drink maker. Pepsi has projected its earnings for 2008 at $3.72 a share. The company expects to generate cash from operations of about $7.6 billion, and its capital spending to be about $2.7 billion this year. It has also projected 3%-5% case volume growth and mid- to high-single-digit revenue growth. Pepsi obviously faces stiff competition from Coca Cola (KO) and has to stay abreast with its product launches. This year, Pepsi will try to push its Diet Pepsi Max and SoBe Life Water beverages. While the company has exposure to the slowing economy and has also been subject to rising raw-material prices, it has various strong global brands, which should support its performance. It has been achieving healthy volume growth in its overseas market and should continue to do so in the Middle East, China and India. In these regions, the company's carbonated beverages are more popular, but its healthy beverages and snacks should also grow. I believe the company's prospects are bright. It has generated a robust return on equity of 34.71%. And while shares have been volatile this year, falling from $79.79 in mid-January to around $71 now, I believe the buyback will help support the shares.

The company announced the authorization to increase the $500 million stock repurchase program previously announced on January 7, 2008 by an additional $500 million. The stock trades for 8.5x cash flow.

Contract electronics maker Plexus Corp. said Tuesday its board approved a financial recapitalization, under which it will borrow $150 million to buy back up to $200 million of its common shares. "Over the last several months we have conducted a comprehensive review of our capital structure, and believe that a moderate amount of debt at the current favorable interest rates strikes the right balance for Plexus," said Chief Financial Officer Ginger Jones in a statement. Also, Credit Suisse analyst William Stein raised his rating to "Outperform" from "Neutral" on signs that its fiscal second-quarter sales and bookings are better than the company had expected. The stock trades for 7.5x cash flow.

Flowserve Corp., which makes pumps and valves for the energy sector, said Wednesday it will buy back up to $300 million of its stock. The company also reiterated its 2008 guidance, saying its markets remain strong. The company expects a profit of $5.10 to $5.40 per share for the year, while analysts polled by Thomson Financial predict a profit of $5.15 per share. The stock trades for 12x cash flow.

The board of directors at Frontier Oil Corp. has approved a $100 million share repurchase program. The Houston refinery owner said it completed a repurchase of $300 million of stock -- about 8 million shares or 7.7 percent of common shares outstanding -- between January 2007 to Feb. 27, 2008, under previously approved authorizations. The stock trades for 4x cash flow.

The company's board has approved the repurchase of shares worth $300 million. The latest authorization takes the total buyback plan, which was initiated in October 2006, to $600 million. Since the program began, Goodrich has bought back 3.9 million shares for $227 million. The Charlotte-based company has about 125 million shares outstanding. The buyback would offset the dilution of shareholder stakes resulting from stock-option grants. Goodrich has announced a quarterly dividend of 22.5 cents a share payable on April 1 to shareholders of record on March 3. The company's performance was robust last year, with strong sales in regional- and general-aircraft equipment and replacement parts. With sales of the Embraer 190 100-seat jet doubling in 2007, the aerospace supplier faced high demand. Net profit jumped 34% to $132.3 million, or $1.04 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter, while revenue grew to $1.67 billion, from $1.5 billion in the fourth quarter of 2006. Even without considering one-time gains, Goodrich beat Wall Street expectations with earnings of 95 cents per diluted share. I expect the company to thrive, even as the U.S. economy recedes. Goodrich has a diversified product and platform portfolio and a strong global presence, both of which are significant positives against the economic slowdown. It operates in a space that is booming across the globe, namely aerospace and aviation. Sales to Airbus and Boeing will continue to be strong. For example, last week, Goodrich landed a $100 million contract to provide cabin-attendant seats for the Airbus A320. The company has also opened an expanded maintenance and repair campus in Singapore for serving commercial and military aerospace customers in Asia, Australia and the Pacific Rim. Moreover, President Bush's $515.4 billion defense budget, which marks a 7.5% jump over fiscal 2008 and would be used toward continuing the struggles in Iraq and Afghanistan, bodes well for companies like Goodrich. In addition, the company has proved that it can cater to high demand and improve its margins simultaneously. On Jan. 31, Jim Cramer said "I like Goodrich, and the umbrella of Boeing will help." Also, there are several investment funds that own the company, which you can see a list of on Stockpickr.com. The company has generated a return on equity of a healthy 21.82% and its P/E/G ratio is 0.91. Shares have been on a downswing since the beginning of this year. With a broad portfolio and a global customer base, it is fairly insulated against the U.S. downturn. I believe the stock will generate positive returns over the next 12 to 18 months. I think Goodrich is a good way to get rich.