SoftBank to purchase up to $4.4 billion of own shares

Japanese telecoms conglomerate SoftBank Group (9984.T) said on Monday it will purchase up to 500 billion yen ($4.4 billion) worth or as much as 14.2 percent of its own shares, in its biggest buyback to date.

The shares have fallen around 28 percent since the start of the year.

The company said it will repurchase the shares over a year starting on Wednesday. The move follows its buyback of around $1 billion worth of shares in August, which CEO Masayoshi Son had said was a response to its lackluster share price.

Investors have been worried about SoftBank’s outlook, mainly due to its majority stake in loss-making U.S. wireless carrier Sprint Corp (S.N).

Source: Reuters