Wipro Ltd. has announced a Rs 9,500-crore buyback, joining its larger peer Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. in rewarding shareholders.
The board has approved a proposal to buy back 23.75 crore shares, or 4.16% of the equity, at Rs 400 apiece, Wipro said in an exchange filing. The buyback price is at a premium of 6.45% to Tuesday's closing stock price.
The buyback will be Wipro's fourth in the last five years, and the second by an Indian IT company this fiscal.
Indian software service providers are looking at proactively returning excess cash on their books to shareholders. A buyback can be done only once in 12 months. Wipro had previously announced a buyback worth Rs 10,500 crore in 2019.
TCS, too, announced a Rs 16,000-crore buyback on Wednesday—its third in four years. Besides, the IT company announced a second interim dividend of Rs 12 per share.
A company can buy back shares up to 10% of its net worth without the approval of shareholders, according to the market regulator's guidelines. It can buy up to a fourth of its net worth with shareholders' approval.
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