TCS' Rs 16,000 Crore Buyback Offer To Open On 18 Dec

On Wednesday, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) said that its up to Rs 16,000-crore share buyback programme will commence on 18 December and close on 1 January 2021.

Last month, the country's largest IT services firm's board had approved a proposal to buy back up to 5,33,33,333 equity shares of the company at Rs 3,000 per share for an aggregate amount not exceeding Rs 16,000 crore.

In a regulatory filing on Wednesday, TCS said that the Letter of Offer (as per SEBI's regulations on Buyback offers) will be dispatched to eligible shareholders on or before 15 December 2020. It added that the record date for this purpose is 28 November 2020.

Schedule of the TCS buyback 2020:

• Date of Opening of the Buyback Offer Period: Friday, 18 December 2020.
• Date of Closing of the Buyback Offer Period: Friday, 1 January 2021
• Last date and time for receipt of completed Tender Forms and other specified documents including physical share certificates (if and as applicable) by the Registrar: Sunday, 3 January 2021 by 5 pm.
• Last date of settlement of bids on the Stock Exchanges: Tuesday, 12 January 2021

Shares of the company closed at 0.53% higher at Rs 2,812.05 on Wednesday, ahead of the announcement.

TCS' smaller rival Wipro has also announced a buyback plan for up to Rs 9,500-crore at Rs 400 per equity share. TCS CEO and Managing Director Rajesh Gopinathan had earlier said the company is focused on its policy to return capital to shareholders.

The Mumbai-based company's cash reserves stood at Rs 58,500 crore as of September 2020. Last year, TCS had offered a special dividend and this time it is undertaking a buyback, he had noted.

In October last year, TCS' board had declared a special dividend of Rs 40 per equity share. In 2018, TCS had undertaken a share buyback of about Rs 16,000 crore, while it had conducted a similar share purchase exercise in 2017 also.