Bajaj Auto extends gains for 5th straight day, closes 3.4% higher

Bajaj Auto shares continued their upward journey for the fifth consecutive session on Wednesday emerging as the top gainer among the benchmark NIFTY50 constituents. The stock closed 3.43% higher at ₹8,638 apiece, buoyed by the ₹4,000-crore buyback program that commenced on March 6.

Shares of the two-wheeler maker opened marginally up and surged 3.95% to hit the day's high of ₹8,681.15 apiece. While the stock later pared some of its gains it closed in green extending the winning streak for a fifth consecutive session.

The company's share buyback programme to raise up to ₹4,000 crore will close on March 13. According to the share buyback plan, the automaker intends to repurchase 40 lakh equity shares, constituting 1.41% of the total outstanding shares, each with a face value of ₹10, through the tender route.

The buyback price of Bajaj Auto shares is set at ₹10,000 per share, which is 19.47% higher than Wednesday's open price of ₹8,369.7 apiece.

Under the share buyback scheme, which will be done on a proportionate basis, the bids will be settled on the stock exchanges by March 20. Bajaj Auto announced the share buyback programme in January this year.

For the share buyback, the registrar will complete the verification of tender forms by March 18, 2024, and bids are expected to be settled on the bourses by March 20. Shares that will be repurchased will cease to trade on exchanges from March 26, 2024.

The board of directors of Bajaj Auto had set February 29 as the record date for the share buyback programme.

The buyback of up to 40 lakh fully paid-up equity shares, each with a face value of ₹10, at ₹10,000 per equity share, totalling an aggregate amount not exceeding ₹4,000 crore, corresponds to 16.33% and 14.49% of the total issued and fully paid-up equity share capital and free reserves, respectively.