Airtel Africa buys 491,861 shares from Citigroup Global

Airtel Africa plc has announced that it has bought 491,861 from Citigroup Global Markets Limited as part of its proposed share buyback program announced last week.

This information was revealed in an announcement made by the company to the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), which was signed by Alastair Jones from Airtel Africa Investor Relations, and made available to the investment community.

The statement reads, “Airtel Africa announces today it has purchased the following number of its ordinary shares of USD 0.50 each on the London Stock Exchange from Citigroup Global Markets Limited pursuant to the authority granted by its shareholders as part of its share buy-back programme, details of which were announced on 1 March 2024.”

The company noted that since it began the share buyback program on March 1st, it has purchased around 491,861 at a weighted average price of GBp 97.14 per ordinary share.

Last week, following the release of its nine-month result up to December 31, the company announced it has started its $100 million share buyback program.

The share buy-back program will start on March 1st and is designed to return up to $100 million to shareholders over up to 12 months.

The announcement highlighted that the primary objective of the buy-back program is to decrease the company’s capital. Therefore, any shares acquired through this program will be cancelled.

The company stated that the acquisition of ordinary shares through the buy-back program will follow predetermined criteria outlined in the contract with Citi, and will also be in accordance with the general permission for share repurchase granted by its shareholders.

This permission was given during the annual general meeting on July 4, 2023, when shareholders consented to the repurchase of up to 375,815,150 ordinary shares.

The share buy-back programme is expected to be phased over two tranches, with the first tranche commencing today and anticipated to end on or before 31 August 2024.

According to the telecom firm, the first tranche will amount to a maximum of $50 million adding that the Company has entered into an agreement with Citigroup Global Markets Limited to conduct the first tranche of the buy-back and carry out on-market purchases of its ordinary shares with the Company subsequently purchasing its ordinary shares from Citigroup.