Technology holding company UCS Group is to repurchase up to 11.5% of its issued share capital from its staff share trust for more than R16 million.
UCS`s business focuses on the provision of software solutions and outsourcing services in selected niche markets.
The JSE-listed group says the share incentive scheme`s trustees cancelled the sale of ordinary shares between the trust and its beneficiaries with effect from 1 February.
"The result of this transaction is that the share incentive scheme now holds ordinary shares, which it will not be utilising in the near future," it says.
UCS will pay 60c a share for a maximum of 27.27 million shares, or 11.5% of its issued ordinary share capital. The price is based on the weighted average of the market value of the shares over the five business days ended 31 January.
Once repurchased, the group intends to cancel the shares and apply to the JSE to delist them.
UCS says the deal is subject to the approval of shareholders and the registration by the Registrar of Companies of the necessary special resolution.
Based on the financial results for the year to 30 September 2002, the effect of the repurchase would have been to increase headline earnings per share to 11.3c from the reported 10.9c, had it been carried out on 1 October 2001.
Assuming it had been implemented on 30 September, net asset value (NAV) per share would have been 75.9c compared with the actual 74.4c, with tangible NAV per share at 53.6c compared with the actual 54.7c.
In addition to this repurchase, UCS has been engaged in a share buyback programme since early 2001, in terms of a general authority granted at its annual meeting in January 2001. The authority was renewed at the beginning of last year.
The UCS share was untraded at 65c by midmorning today.
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