par EDENRED (EPA:EDEN)
Edenred announces the launch of a share buyback operation
Press release
March 8, 2024
Edenred announces the launch of a share buyback operation
Edenred, a leading digital platform for services and payments, today announced its decision to launch a share buyback operation, for a maximum amount of €300 million over a period between mid-March, 2024 and March 31, 2027. The shares bought back will be canceled.
This operation demonstrates Edenred's confidence in its potential for value creation and reflects the Group's solid financial structure and structural capacity to generate cash.
The decision is in line with the Group's capital deployment policy, which aims to strike a balance between a continued high level of investment in technology, targeted acquisitions and attractive shareholder returns. In addition to the payment of a progressive dividend per share, shareholder returns will now potentially include this share buyback program, which will be implemented depending on market conditions[1].
Edenred expects to appoint over the next few days an investment services provider to manage the program. The agreement will run from mid-March 2024 until the 2024 General Meeting, with the intention of extending it until March 31, 20272. The Group will release the date of the beginning of the operation at the date of the effective signing of the agreement. The shares bought back will be canceled.
This decision expands on the recurring operations carried out under the share buyback program, which are intended to cover performance share plans set up for employees and/or corporate officers, to cancel shares, in connection with capital reductions, in order to offset the dilutive effect of performance share plans, and to improve the regularity of the daily quotations under a liquidity agreement.
The share buyback agreement will be carried out in accordance with the terms, notably the maximum purchase price, of the authorization granted by the General Meeting held on May 11, 2023 (or any subsequent authorization with the same purpose).
Edenred may terminate, suspend or postpone the program as it deems appropriate in line with the Group's strategy.
The share buyback program is described in further detail in section 7.2.4 of the 2022 Universal Registration Document. At December 31, 2023, the Company held 632,229 shares in treasury, representing 0.25% of the total number of shares making up the share capital.
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About Edenred
Edenred is a leading digital platform for services and payments and the everyday companion for people at work, connecting more than 60 million users and more than 2 million partner merchants in 45 countries via close to 1 million corporate clients.
Edenred offers specific-purpose payment solutions for food (such as meal benefits), engagement (such as gift cards and dedicated platforms), mobility (such as multi-energy solutions, including EV charging, maintenance, toll, parking and commuter solutions) and corporate payments (such as virtual cards).
True to the Group’s purpose, “Enrich connections. For good.”, these solutions enhance users’ well-being and purchasing power. They improve companies’ attractiveness and efficiency, and vitalize the employment market and the local economy. They also foster access to healthier food, more environmentally friendly products and sustainable mobility.
Edenred’s 12,000 employees are committed to making the world of work a connected ecosystem that is safer, more efficient and more responsible every day.
In 2023, thanks to its global technology assets, the Group managed €41 billion in business volume, primarily carried out via mobile applications, online platforms and cards.
Edenred is listed on the Euronext Paris stock exchange and included in the following indices: CAC 40, CAC 40 ESG, CAC Large 60, Euronext 100, Euronext Tech Leaders, FTSE4Good and MSCI Europe.
The logos and other trademarks mentioned and featured in this press release are registered trademarks of Edenred
S.E., its subsidiaries or third parties. They may not be used for commercial purposes without prior written consent from their owners.
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CONTACTS
Communications Department
Emmanuelle Châtelain
+33 (0)1 86 67 24 36
emmanuelle.chatelain@edenred.com
Media Relations
Matthieu Santalucia
+33 (0)1 86 67 22 63
matthieu.santalucia@edenred.com
Investor Relations
Cédric Appert
+33 (0)1 86 67 24 99
cedric.appert@edenred.com
Baptiste Fournier
+33 (0)1 86 67 20 73
baptiste.fournier@edenred.com
[1] With the objective being accretive in earnings per share when shares bought back are canceled. 2 If the corresponding resolution is approved by shareholders at subsequent General Meetings.