Airtel Africa plans second tranche of share buyback worth $100m

• Published On: 19 August 2024 at 19:45

Airtel Africa has announced the second phase of its $100 million share buyback program.

This was disclosed in a statement included in the notice filed with the NGX on Monday.

It announced plans to repurchase 34,896,112 ordinary shares from Citigroup Global Markets on February 1st and March 1st, 2024, for a volume-weighted average price of 110.35p over a 12-month period.

The second tranche of the share buyback is expected to be completed by December 19, 2024, with a maximum value of $50 million.

To facilitate the buyback, the telecom giant announced that it will purchase its common shares from Citigroup Global Market Limited.

"Under this agreement, Citi will act as a riskless principal and will make decisions independently of the company," according to the paperwork.

According to Airtel Africa, the purpose of the buyback is to reduce share capital as well as any potential debt obligations and operating cash costs that come with having too much share capital.

According to the report, the company will execute the second tranche of the buyback in accordance with the pre-set conditions it has with Citi.

"Any purchases of ordinary shares under the buy-back program by Citi will be carried out in accordance with certain pre-set parameters set out in the agreement with Citi, and Company purchases will be in accordance with (and subject to the limits prescribed by) the Company's general authority to repurchase ordinary shares on the London Stock Exchange," according to the statement.

The company will only conduct transactions with shareholder permission and in accordance with their annual general meeting resolutions from July 3, 2024. "Shareholders gave the company authority to purchase a maximum of 374,141,187 ordinary shares."

Recall Airtel Africa's pre-tax profit increased by 133.6% YoY to $74 million in the second quarter of 2024.