Emami share buyback size likely to be Rs 900-1000 crore

Kolkata: The size of proposed buyback of shares by Emami Ltd is likely to be in the range of Rs 900-1,000 crore, sources said on Monday. The promoters currently hold 52.74 per cent stake in the company and 83 per cent of their holding is pledged.

The buyback could raise promoter stake to about 58 per cent, sources said.

The company's board will meet on March 19 to consider the buyback and an interim dividend.

"The company's buyback will be within the window of 10 per cent of the reserves as this does not require any shareholder's nod," sources told.

Based on the current level of share price, the size of the buyback could be between Rs 900-1000 crore, they said.

As of March 2019, Emami had free reserves of over Rs 2,000 crore.

In February, the promoters had entered into an agreement to sell their cement business to Nirma to pare debt at the promoter level and the sale process is expected to be completed by June.

Meanwhile, an interim dividend will boost retail shareholders' morale amid volatility in the capital markets following the coronavirus scare, according to analysts.

The latest Union budget had proposed that dividend distribution tax (DDT) will be levied on the recipients, which is set to adversely impact the high bracket taxpayers. The effective DDT rate was 20.56 per cent.

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