In the second half of August this year, Insurance Australia Group Limited (ASX: IAG) announced that it is going for an off-market buy- back of around $300 million ordinary shares.
The buy-back was said to be open as an off-market tender process on September 09, 2016 and close on October 07, 2016, and the funding for the buy- back was said to be coming in from existing cash and investments.
At the offset, the company made it clear that the participation of shareholders in the buy-back was optional and the company at its absolute discretion could vary the size of the buy- back, including not buying back any shares at all depending on shareholder demand, market conditions and projected capital requirements for the future.
The company also informed that all shareholders will receive the fully franked Final Dividend for the financial year ending 30th June 2016 irrespective of their participation in the buy-back.
A few days ago, following strong demand from shareholders, the company successfully completed the off-market ordinary share buy-back to the tune of around $314 million, exceeding its initial buy- back estimate and amounting to approximately 64 million shares, or about 2.6% of the company’s ordinary issued capital at a price of $4.91, which is a discount of 11%.
Details of Buy-back program’s outcome (Source: Company Reports)
According to a statement from the Chief Financial Officer of IAG, Nick Hawkins, “We are pleased with the strong response to the buy-back from our shareholders”.
He further added that “Completion of this capital management initiative is in line with IAG’s objective of maximising total shareholder returns by returning surplus capital through an effective means, while maintaining a strong balance sheet and regulatory capital position.”
While the move by IAG to buy- back shares in addition to increasing its dividend pay-out ratio and give out special dividends, has been well-received by the market and the shareholders. However, some analysts have opined that the move could be a result of the company being unable to find suitable places to invest their capital in and although the business is fairly attractive with the likelihood of sustainable cash flows, they don’t expect the company to see an organic growth in the short term.
On the other hand, the group’s capability to generate cash coupled with its good growth dividend prospects and ability to sail through volatile conditions can’t be ignored. The shares of IAG have moved up 1.26% in the last five days (as at October 12, 2016) while the prices have risen about 7.1% in last one month.
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