Cairn India has bought less than 2 per cent of the 17.09 crore shares it is looking to buyback to give the mining baron greater control over the nation’s largest private oil producer.
Cairn on January 23 launched its first ever buy back of share for extinguishing them. The issue where Cairn will spend Rs 5,725 crore out of its cash reserves of Rs 13,707 crore, is to close on July 22.
“Till March 31, 2014, we have bought back 3,270,549 shares for a total consideration of approximately Rs 106 crore from the open market through stock exchanges,” the company said in its fourth-quarter earnings statement. Cairn wants to buy as much as 17.09 crore shares, or 8.9 per cent of the equity, from the open market at not more than Rs 335 apiece in the buyback programme.