Infosys Completes Rs 13,000 Crore Buyback
The buyback scheme, a first in Infosys’s over three-decade history commenced on Nov. 30.
Software services major Infosys Ltd. today said it has completed its Rs 13,000 crore buyback programme that saw participation from Sudha Gopalakrishnan, Rohan Murty, and Life Insurance Corporation among others.
Infosys bought back 11.3 crore shares at Rs 1,150 apiece, the company said in a stock exchange filing. The buyback scheme – a first in the company's over three-decade history – commenced on Nov. 30 and closed on Dec. 14.
The programme saw participation from Life Insurance Corporation of India, Singapore government, Sudha Gopalakrishnan, wife of co-founder S Gopalakrishnan, and Rohan Murty, son of co-founder NR Narayana Murthy, among others.
The filing showed that of all the equity shares tendered in the buyback, 5.41 percent were by LIC and 2.18 percent by Singapore government. Similarly, 15 lakh shares of Sudha Gopalakrishnan and 13.92 lakh shares held by Murty were accepted under the buyback.
As of September this year, Sudha Gopalakrishnan held the largest share in individual capacity among promoters group members with 2.14 percent shareholding. The founders and families — classified as promoters group — held 29.28 crore shares, or 12.75 percent, in Infosys at the end of September 2017.
After the buyback, the promoter group now holds 12.90 percent share, as per the filing. The buyback had been a long-standing demand by some of the founders and high-profile former executives, who have been pushing Infosys to return surplus capital to shareholders.
Share buybacks typically improve earnings per share and return surplus cash to shareholders, while supporting share price during the period of a sluggish market condition.
Earlier this year, its larger rival Tata Consultancy Services completed a Rs 16,000-crore mega buyback offer. Other competitors like Cognizant, Wipro, and Mindtree had also made similar announcements.