KT&G said it will cancel 10.9 million treasury shares worth approximately 2 trillion won ($1.4 billion), becoming the first company to act under South Korea’s newly revised Commercial Act requiring the retirement of treasury stock within set deadlines. The board-approved cancellation, equal to about 9.5% of outstanding shares, will be put to shareholders on March 26 alongside bylaw amendments to strengthen governance, including provisions for electronic shareholder meetings and expanded audit committee representation. The move builds on KT&G’s 3.7 trillion won ($2.6 billion) shareholder return program launched in 2024, under which the company has already retired 19.2 million shares and returned more than 2.3 trillion won ($1.6 billion) through dividends and buybacks.
Tag: share buyback
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BAT Extends £1.3B Share Buyback for 2026
British American Tobacco extended its 2024 share buyback program by up to £1.3 billion for 2026. The company has entered an irrevocable, non-discretionary agreement with UBS AG London Branch to execute the next tranche, expected to run from January 2 to February 11, 2026, during the company’s closed period.
UBS will act independently in making trading decisions. All repurchased shares will be cancelled to reduce the company’s share capital, with purchases carried out under existing shareholder authority and in line with UK market regulations.
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BAT Share Buyback Begins
Image: maurice norbert BAT’s program to buyback BAT ordinary shares using proceeds from its sale of shares in ITC Limited begins Monday, March 18, 2024. The final net proceeds received by the BAT Group from the sale were £1.57 billion ($1.99 billion), and the program will buy back £1.60 billion of BAT ordinary shares starting with £700 million in 2024 and the remaining £900 million in 2025. The program will end no later than Dec. 31, 2025.
The purpose of the program is to reduce the issued share capital of the company. The purchased shares will be canceled. The company has entered into an agreement with UBS AG London Brance to enable the purchase of ordinary shares for the initial stage of the program. UBS will purchase the company’s ordinary shares as principal, and the company will purchase such number of ordinary shares form UBS in accordance with the terms of the engagement.
The number of ordinary shares permitted to be purchased by the company is 223,590,721 ordinary shares. The program will be carried out on Recognized Investment Exchanges within the U.K. For the avoidance of doubt, no repurchases will be made in respect of the company’s American Depositary Receipts.
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KT&G to Buy Back Shares
Image: Vlad Ispas KT&G will spend KRW2.8 trillion ($2.1 billion) to buy back shares and provide dividends to shareholders over the next three years, according to Yonhap News Agency. The company will buy back KRW1 trillion in shares for cancellation and distribute KRW1.8 trillion in cash dividends.
“Seventy percent of KT&G shareholders are long-term investors who have kept KT&G stocks for more than three years. The government is known to be considering providing incentives to companies which cancel their own shares,” the company said during the Value Day 2023 event.
KT&G aims to maintain a debt-to-equity ratio in the lower 40 percent range over the next three years. At the end of September 2023, its debt-to-equity ratio was 40.6 percent.