Norwegian shipowner and manager Wilh Wilhelmsen Holding is to spend $1.8m more on its share buyback scheme than projected yesterday, following enthusiasm from investors.
The Oslo-listed company saw its share price jump by 8.5% to NOK 140 on Tuesday after announcing the repurchase programme.
Wilhelmsen today said it will spend up to NOK 296m ($32.8m) in buying back 2 million of its shares at a price between NOK 143 and NOK 148 each.
The pricing has been "based on feedback from investors," Wilhelmsen said in an exchange filing today.
When it announced the buyback yesterday, the company said it expected to spend up to NOK 280m on the programme.
"The company will – depending on the prices and volumes shown by selling shareholders, and the mix of A- and B-shares — allocate shares at its discretion between the share classes, with the equal treatment of shareholders as the primary objective," the company stated today.
This is a slight tweak compared to the plan announced yesterday, which said the 2 million shares to be acquired would consist of 1.5 million A shares and 500,000 B shares.
The company said it will pay the same price per share, regardless of share class.
The book building process for the offer will ends when markets close in Oslo on Thursday.
Pricing and allocation will follow before 18:00 tomorrow, with settlement scheduled for Monday.
Wilhelmsen has mandated DNB Markets as sole bookrunner for the offer.
The company received authorisation at its AGM in April to acquire up to 10% of its outstanding stock.
Wilhelmsen's shares were trading at NOK 143 as of 13:30 in Oslo today.
