L&T's board approves Rs 90-billion share buyback proposal at Rs 1500 apiece

Engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro’s board on Thursday approved the company’s first buyback in its 80 years, for up to 4.29 per cent of its paid-up equity capital, aggregating to a value of about Rs 90 billion. In terms of amount proposed, the buyback is the fifth largest by any Indian company.

The company, at its meeting on Thursday, approved a proposal to buy back up to 60 million equity shares at a maximum price of Rs 1,500 per equity share for an amount of Rs 90 billion, L&T said in its statement to exchanges.

S N Subrahmanyan, chief executive officer and managing director, said this was to ensure shareholders receive a better return on their investments. “There was a promise made to the shareholders, that we will increase the return on equity. We thought, why not return the money to the shareholders, whom it belongs to,” Subrahmanyan said on the sidelines on the 73rd annual general meeting (AGM) in Mumbai on Thursday.

Larsen & Toubro Limited