BackBlackBerry planning share buyback to offset employee incentives
The employee stock plan will be presented for approval at the company's annual general meeting on 23 June
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Toronto: BlackBerry Ltd plans to buy back and cancel as many as 12 million shares, or 2.6% of its public float, to offset a new employee share purchase plan.
The employee stock plan, which will increase the amount of shares available for compensation, will be presented for approval at the company’s annual general meeting on 23 June, BlackBerry said Thursday in a statement. The shares climbed as much as 2.7% in late trading after the announcement.
BlackBerry shares have fallen 6.5% this year to $10.27 as analysts expressed doubt about the company’s ability to increase software sales. Chen, since taking over in November 2013, has been diversifying the company, with the goal of doubling software revenue to $500 million by next March.
Several top employees have left the company in the past year, including Jeff Gadway, former director of enterprise product marketing; and Alec Saunders, former vice president of the QNX unit.
“We intend to take advantage of our strong cash position to purchase our shares when the market price does not reflect what we view to be the underlying value and future prospects of our business," chief executive officer John Chen said in the statement.
BlackBerry plans to buy the shares within the next 12 months on the Nasdaq Stock Market and, pending regulatory approval, on the Toronto Stock Exchange, according to the statement.
The company said it hasn’t repurchased any outstanding securities in the past 12 months. Bloomberg
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