The board of directors of GAIL (India) has approved a buyback of equity shares and declared an interim dividend for the current fiscal. GAIL will buy back 6.97 crore shares, representing 2.5 per cent of the total paid-up equity share capital, of face value of ₹10 each, according to an exchange filing. That amounts to a total consideration not exceeding ₹1,046.35 crore. The buyback price has been fixed at ₹150 apiece, a 4.1 per cent premium to Thursday’s closing price. It also declared an interim dividend of ₹2.5 apiece for 2020-21.
The board has fixed January 28 as the record date for buyback and dividend. The government is the largest shareholder in GAIL. Currently, the government holds a 51.76 per cent stake in the company, while foreign investors owned 15.74 per cent.
Shares of GAIL fell as much as 3.82 per cent on Friday to close at ₹ 138.50 at the Bombay Stock Exchange. Our Bureau