BlackBerry Ltd. plans to buy back and cancel as many as 12 million shares, or 2.6 percent of its public float, to offset a new employee share purchase plan.
The employee stock plan, which will increase the amount of shares available for compensation, will be presented for approval at the company’s annual general meeting on June 23, BlackBerry said Thursday in a statement.
The shares climbed 2.2 percent to $12.81 at 1:43 p.m. in Toronto. BlackBerry shares have fallen 6.5 percent this year to $10.27 as analysts expressed doubt about the company’s ability to increase software sales.
Chen, since taking over in November 2013, has been diversifying the company, with the goal of doubling software revenue to $500 million by next March.
Several top employees have left the company in the past year, including Jeff Gadway, former director of enterprise product marketing; and Alec Saunders, former vice president of the QNX unit.
“We intend to take advantage of our strong cash position to purchase our shares when the market price does not reflect what we view to be the underlying value and future prospects of our business,” Chief Executive Officer John Chen said in the statement.
Chen’s salary for the fiscal year that ended in February was $3.4 million, down from $85.8 million in the previous year when he was awarded $84.8 million in shares that are being distributed to him over five years.
BlackBerry plans to buy the shares within the next 12 months on the Nasdaq Stock Market and, pending regulatory approval, on the Toronto Stock Exchange, according to the statement. The company said it hasn’t repurchased any outstanding securities in the past 12 months.
bloomberg.com
The employee stock plan, which will increase the amount of shares available for compensation, will be presented for approval at the company’s annual general meeting on June 23, BlackBerry said Thursday in a statement.
The shares climbed 2.2 percent to $12.81 at 1:43 p.m. in Toronto. BlackBerry shares have fallen 6.5 percent this year to $10.27 as analysts expressed doubt about the company’s ability to increase software sales.
Chen, since taking over in November 2013, has been diversifying the company, with the goal of doubling software revenue to $500 million by next March.
Several top employees have left the company in the past year, including Jeff Gadway, former director of enterprise product marketing; and Alec Saunders, former vice president of the QNX unit.
“We intend to take advantage of our strong cash position to purchase our shares when the market price does not reflect what we view to be the underlying value and future prospects of our business,” Chief Executive Officer John Chen said in the statement.
Chen’s salary for the fiscal year that ended in February was $3.4 million, down from $85.8 million in the previous year when he was awarded $84.8 million in shares that are being distributed to him over five years.
BlackBerry plans to buy the shares within the next 12 months on the Nasdaq Stock Market and, pending regulatory approval, on the Toronto Stock Exchange, according to the statement. The company said it hasn’t repurchased any outstanding securities in the past 12 months.
bloomberg.com
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