Infosys shares end lower by nearly 1%

Shares of the country's second-largest software services firm Infosys ended down by 0.85 per cent at Rs 974.95.

Following a positive open at Rs Rs 989 against the previous close of Rs 983.30, the scrip touched an intraday high of Rs 989.80 and a low of Rs 967.35. In terms of equity volume, 1.28 lakh shares were traded on the BSE.

The Bengaluru-headquartered firm started its Rs 13,000-crore share buyback programme today.

Through the buyback , the first by the company since listing, Infosys will buy back over 11.30 crore shares at ₹1,150 apiece. A majority of Infosys’ promoters including NR Narayana Murthy and Nandan Nilekani will take part in the buyback.

Infosys had set November 1 as the record date to identify the eligible shareholders. The offer is being done through the tender route.

The buyback offer was announced on August 19 this year. It involved buying back of 11.3 crore shares (4.92 per cent of its equity) through a tender offer at a price of ₹1,150 a share resulting in a total offer size of ₹13,000 crore.

According to SEBI regulations, 15 per cent of the offer size — ₹1,950 crore — will be reserved for small shareholders holding shares upto a value of ₹2 lakh as on the record date (which should typically be 53-77 days from the date of approval in the board meet).