Note 11 - Common Stock Repurchases

9 Months Ended

Dec. 29, 2013

Stockholders' Equity Note [Abstract]

Stockholders' Equity Note Disclosure [Text Block]

NOTE 11.    COMMON STOCK REPURCHASES

From time to time, we acquire outstanding common stock in the open market to partially offset dilution from our equity award programs, to increase our return on invested capital and to bring our cash to a more appropriate level for our organization.

On August 28, 2007, we announced the approval of a share repurchase plan under which we were authorized to repurchase up to $100.0 million of our common stock.

On July 9, 2013, we announced the approval of a share repurchase program under which we were authorized to repurchase an additional $50.0 million of our common stock. The repurchase program does not have a termination date, and may be modified, extended or terminated at any time. We intend to retire all shares repurchased under the stock repurchase plan. The purchase price for the repurchased shares of Exar is reflected as a reduction of common stock and additional paid-in capital. We may continue to repurchase our common stock under the repurchase plan, which would reduce our cash, cash equivalents and/or short-term marketable securities available to fund future operations and to meet other liquidity requirements.

As of December 29, 2013, we had repurchased shares valued at $92.2 million under the August 2007 repurchase program. During the three and nine months ended December 29, 2013, we repurchased $2.0 million and $4.0 million of our common stock under the July 2013 repurchase program, respectively. The repurchased shares were retired immediately. The remaining authorized amount for the stock repurchase under the repurchase programs is $57.8 million.

Stock repurchase activities during the nine months ended December 29, 2013 were indicated below (in thousands, except per share amounts):

	Total number of Shares Purchased	Average Price Paid Per Share (or Unit)		Amount Paid for Purchase
Balances, March 31, 2013	9,564	$	9.22	$	88,189
Repurchases for nine months	309	$	12.94		4,000
Balances, December 29, 2013	9,873	$	9.34	$	92,189

Note: The average price paid per share is based on the total price paid by Exar, which includes applicable broker fees.