After TCS, HCL Tech to consider share buy-back; stock spikes 4%

HCL Technologies share price rallied 4 per cent after the IT major it will consider share buy-back on July 12. Reacting to the news, the stock gained as much as 4 per cent to Rs 1000.05 on the BSE. 

"The Board of Directors of the Company is scheduled to be held on Thursday, July 12, 2018, to consider a proposal for buy-back of equity shares of the company," HCL Technologies said in a BSE filing.

The announcement comes within a month of TCS, the country's largest software services exporter, declaring a Rs 16,000 crore share buy-back programme. It has offered to buy back shares at a premium of over 15 per cent, at Rs 2,100 a share.

For HCL Tech, this is the second consecutive buy back after May 2017. It had last year offered buy-back of shares at Rs 1,000 apiece, a 17 per cent premium over its prevailing trading price at that time. 

The buyback size was Rs 3,500 crore, representing 16.39 and 13.62 per cent of the aggregate of the fully paid-up equity share capital and free reserves as per the standalone and consolidated audited accounts of the company for the financial year ended March 31, 2016.

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This time buy back price is estimated to be Rs 1050-1100 per share.

HCL Tech has a cash holding of Rs 6,000 crore, and free float of Rs 53,538 crore. That said, experts believe buyback size could be 6-10 per cent of free float.