White Mts. in second stock buyback

For the second time in two months, White Mountains Insurance Group will be buying back shares in a “modified Dutch auction.”Under the auction, which started Monday, a shareholder can name his or her price — between $385 and $425 — anytime until midnight Nov. 14, when the auction is slated to end. At the end of the auction, White Mountains will figure out which price – of those that were offered – would be the lowest price it could pay to buy back about 300,000 shares. Then White Mountains, which is run out of Hanover, N.H., will either buy back the shares at the price named, or at a higher price or leave shareholders still holding their shares.Shares were trading for $411.12 per share on Oct. 13, before the auction was announced. At the close of trading on Monday, the company’s stock price was up to $414.78.White Mountains last held a Dutch auction from Aug. 18 to Sept. 15, with the maximum price at $435, $10 more than the current auction. — BOB SANDERS/NEW HAMPSHIRE BUSINESS REVIEW