Share Buyback
Since then, the Board of Management has been authorized to acquire own shares, in compliance with the applicable legal provisions, representing a total of up to 10% of the company's existing capital stock until April 11, 2024. Based on this authorization, on February 28, 2022, the Board of Management resolved on a share buyback program with a total volume of approximately EUR 500 million (without ancillary transaction costs) that shall be concluded within two years. On October 26, 2023, the Board of Management decided to terminate the remaining ongoing share buyback program ahead of schedule on October 26, 2023. This decision has been taken due to the current overall situation and the limited time remaining until the end of the program on February 28, 2024 and the authorization of the Annual General Meeting expiring on April 11, 2024. As such, EUR 199 million of the intended EUR 500 million share buyback were executed. Covestro bought back 4.7 million shares with an average price of EUR 42.50 per share. Covestro plans to seek for a renewal of the authorization during the Annual General Meeting in 2024 to continue share buybacks in the future. Generally, the repurchased shares are subsequently to be cancelled and the share capital is to be reduced accordingly.
Previously, the authorization to purchase own shares granted on September 1, 2015 had been largely exhausted by a share buyback program announced by Covestro in the fall of 2017. The program comprised the repurchase of own shares between November 2017 and December 2018. In three tranches, shares totaling more than 9.8% of the capital stock, or just under €1.5 billion, were acquired.
Covestro publishes the transactions conducted for this purpose at that time:
