Diageo today announced it is commencing the third phase of its return of capital (ROC) programme of up to £4.5 billion (€5.4 billion) to shareholders.
The drinks giant noted that under the first two phases of the ROC programme, which were completed on 31 January 2020 and 11 February 2022 respectively, Diageo repurchased shares with an aggregate value of £2.25 billion.
Further Announcement
Diageo also announced today that it has entered into a non-discretionary agreement with UBS AG London Branch (UBS) to enable the company to buy back shares with an aggregate value of up to £1.7 billion, of which the repurchase of shares with an aggregate value of up to £1.4 billion will be completed by 30 June 2022.
In each case the aggregate value of shares repurchased will be net of any fees payable to or by UBS under the terms of the agreement.
This agreement will commence on 21 February 2022 and will end no later than 5 October 2022, the company explained.
'Reduce The Share Capital'
The purpose of the repurchases is to reduce the share capital of Diageo and all shares repurchased under this agreement will be cancelled.
Further execution phases of the ROC programme, utilising the most appropriate mechanic of either share buybacks or special dividends depending on market conditions, will be subject to future announcements.
UBS will make its trading decisions in relation to Diageo’s securities independently of and uninfluenced by Diageo, the company said.
© 2022 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Donna Ahern. For more Drinks news click here. Click sign up to subscribe to Checkout.
