Wipro’s Rs 11,000 Crore Share Buyback To Begin From Nov. 29

Information technology company Wipro Ltd. today said it will open Rs 11,000 crore share buyback scheme on Nov. 29 for Rs 320 a unit, at 8.6 percent premium over the current price.

The company announced the buyback of over 34.37 crore fully paid-up equity shares of face value Rs 2 each of the firm, representing up to 7.06 percent of the total paid-up equity share capital, from all the fully paid-up equity shareholders/beneficial owners of the shares as on the record date of Sept. 15, 2017, on a proportionate basis, it said in a regulatory filing.

Wipro will process the buyback through a tender offer route, at a price of Rs 320 per equity share for an aggregate amount of up to Rs 11,000 crore, as per the announcement.

Share buybacks improve earnings per share and return surplus cash to shareholders, while also supporting share price during periods of sluggish market conditions.

Eligible shareholders holding and tendering equity shares held in their demat form are not required to submit the tender form to the registrar of the scheme, Karvy Computershare. The buyback is being managed by JM Financial Institutional Securities.

In addition to placing the bid through a stock broker, the stock broker of the eligible shareholder holding equity shares in physical form can submit their signed tender form and other documents by Dec. 15, the document said.

As on Sept. 30, 2017, Wipro had consolidated cash and cash equivalents of Rs 5,141.2 crore on its books and investments of Rs 33,305.6 crore, totalling Rs 38,446.8 crore.

Among Indian IT companies, TCS has already completed a Rs 16,000 crore buyback programme earlier this year.

The country's second largest IT firm Infosys will open share buyback worth Rs 13,000-crore on November 30 and end on December 14.

Shares of Wipro closed at Rs 294.6 a unit, down by 0.05 percent compared to previous close, at BSE today.