Hindustan Unilever Board Approves Share Buyback at a maximum price of Rs.230 per share

Hindustan Unilever Ltd has announced that the Board of Directors of the Company at its meeting held on July 29, 2007, has considered and approved, subject to the approvals of the members of the Company, and such other approvals / consents, as may be necessary, the buyback of the Company's equity shares at a price not exceeding Rs 230.00 per share and up to an aggregate amount of Rs 630 crores, being within 25% of the total paid-up capital and free reserves as per the audited Balance Sheet as at December 31, 2006.

The Company proposes to buy back shares at a price not exceeding Rs 230.00 per share on the Bombay Stock Exchange Ltd ("BSE") and National Stock Exchange of India Ltd ("NSE") where these shares are listed, through open market purchases from time to time.

The maximum price is at a premium of 17% over the closing price of the Company's share as on July 27, 2007. The average closing price of Company's share in the BSE for the last six months is Rs 196/-. The buyback is proposed to effectively utilize the surplus cash and make the balance sheet leaner and more efficient to improve returns.

The Board has decided to take shareholders approval to their proposal for purchasing Company's shares up to 25% of the paid capital in terms of section 77A of the Companies Act, 1956 and accordingly approved the notice and the explanatory statement for taking shareholders approval through postal ballot.

As per the provisions of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Buyback of Securities) Regulation 1998, the promoters (Unilever) and the directors of the Company shall not participate in the proposed buyback process.

Source : Equity Bulls

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