Samsung Electronics is preparing a share buyback worth about 90 trillion won, one of the largest repurchase programmes a South Korean company has attempted, the Yonhap News Agency reported on Wednesday, citing unidentified industry sources.
The figure works out to $58.61bn at the won’s current level, and the news sent Samsung shares up more than 6% in Seoul. The buyback is less a vote of confidence in the share price than a bill coming due. It exists to supply the stock Samsung now owes its own workers.
Under a pay deal struck last month, the company agreed to set aside roughly 10.5% of operating profit as a special bonus for staff in its Device Solutions semiconductor division, paid in shares rather than cash.
Samsung will need to buy back the treasury stock to hand out, which is what the 90 trillion won is for.
The arithmetic is steep. Yonhap put the total bonus cost at about 154 trillion won over three years, a sum that includes the roughly 40% withholding tax due on the payouts.
