DigiPlus Interactive Corp says the total estimated number of shares under a buyback scheme, announced last week, would be 203,389,830 common shares, representing 4.49 percent of the company’s total outstanding shares.
Calculations were based on the DigiPlus stock price on July 4, the date the board approved the buyback.
In a clarification letter to the Philippine Stock Exchange that was filed on Monday, the company also confirmed its share buyback programme would be valid over a 12-month period, renewable if approved by the group’s directors.
The company has affirmed that the share buyback scheme will be funded via the company’s “internally-generated cash flows”. It added that would relate to its unrestricted earnings as defined in the Philippines’ Revised Corporation Code.
DigiPlus is a Philippine holding company with investment in gaming and leisure businesses, including bingo services and a digital sportsbook platform. The firm had said in a July 7 update that it would buy up to up to PHP6.0-billion (US$107.6-million currently) worth of the company’s common shares.
A week before that, DigiPlus had experienced volatility in its stock price after news that the Philippine authorities might introduce stricter policies regarding access to digital gambling platforms, as well as a possible tax move by the national authorities.
In its latest update, DigiPlus stated it had nearly 4.91-billion issued shares; just over 4.52 -billion outstanding shares; just above 4.90-billion listed shares; and 380.6 million treasury shares.
The firm said that – based in a listing notice carrying last Friday’s date – a total of just over 4.61-million DigiPlus shares would be listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange on Tuesday (July 15).
At the start of July, DigiPlus said it was “on track” to launch “this September” online gaming operations in Brazil, less than a year after it announced it had been awarded a licence there.
