International Holding Co., the sprawling conglomerate chaired by one of Abu Dhabi’s most powerful royals, has planned its 5 billion dirham ($1.4 billion) buyback program to revive its share price as the 43,000% rally in its stock cools.
There’s “significant value in the future” of IHC and a stock buyback will help enhance the company’s earnings per share, Chief Executive Officer Syed Basar Shueb said in an interview. It’s also an “opportunity” for shareholders who want to sell their stock, he added.
Emirati nationals own nearly 90% of IHC. Its second-biggest shareholder is Royal Group, a company led by the UAE’s national security adviser, Sheikh Tahnoon Bin Zayed Al Nahyan — who is also IHC’s chairman. The biggest individual shareholder, Pal Group of Companies LLC, is a subsidiary of Royal Group. Together, they own about 60% of IHC. Its low free float means that despite its size, IHC is not part of the widely-tracked MSCI Emerging Markets Index.
It announced the buyback program earlier this month, planning for a total of as much as 5 billion dirhams to be executed over a one-year period, pending approval from shareholders and regulators.
“This is our strategy for rewarding our shareholders who have probably not seen the share price growth in the past year,” the CEO said. “It should help boosting the price.”
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