New Delhi: The stock of Infosys climbed over 2 per cent on Friday morning trade after the IT services giant said its board has approved the largest-ever share buyback programme worth Rs 18,000 crore.
Shares of the company went up by 2.32 per cent to Rs 1,544.65 on the BSE.
At the NSE, the stock climbed 2.19 per cent to Rs 1,542.90.
This marks the largest buyback by Infosys to date and its fifth in the past eight years. The previous buyback was conducted in 2022. A buyback committee has been set up to oversee the process.
Unlike its last three buybacks, which were executed through open market purchases, the latest will be carried out via the tender offer route, in line with regulatory changes prohibiting open market buybacks from 01 April this year. Under this method, companies repurchase shares from shareholders at a fixed premium.
Infosys also disclosed that it has obtained exemptive relief from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on aspects of the tender offer process, given conflicts between Indian and US regulatory requirements.
Its US-listed American Depositary Receipts (ADR) ended 0.5 per cent higher overnight, while the Indian stock had closed 1.5 per cent lower on Thursday after a strong two-day rally of nearly 7 per cent.
Brokerage firm CLSA noted that Infosys’s move could prompt Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to follow suit with a buyback in the third quarter of the financial year, possibly in place of paying a special dividend.
