SEOUL-- Samsung Electronics Co. said it would buy back $2
billion of its shares, its first such move in seven years, as it
deploys some of its $60 billion cash hoard to shore up its flagging
share price.
In a regulatory filing after the close of trading Wednesday,
Samsung said it was returning the cash to improve shareholder
returns and stabilize its stock price, which has fallen 12% so far
this year.
It also comes after a number of high-profile shareholders and
analysts have called publicly for an increase in dividends and
share buybacks. The company's dividend yield is about half that of
peers such as Intel Corp. and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing
Co. Ltd.
The buyback will include 1.96 trillion Korean won (US$1.8
billion) of common shares, and 230 billion won ($208 million) of
non-voting preferred shares, according to Samsung's filing.
Write to Jonathan Cheng at jonathan.cheng@wsj.com and Min-Jeong
Lee at min-jeong.lee@wsj.com
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