Savola plans to buyback 2.5 mln treasury shares under employee incentive plan

Savola Group’s headquarters

Savola Group’s board of directors approved today, Feb. 7, the repurchase of up to 2.5 million shares, as treasury shares, to be allocated for the long-term employee stock incentive plan (LTIP), the company said in a statement to Tadawul.

The LTIP will be offered to the executives of Savola and its subsidiaries.

The current percentage of the firm’s treasury shares of total target shares stands at 0.25%.

The move is part of the board’s approval to achieve the required procedures for the three upcoming tranches, which will be awarded annually for the next three years, in line with the authorized program's scope and terms first launched in 2020.

The statement said that the buyback strives to attract and retain key talents and motivate their performance to achieve the group’s strategic objectives.

Savola will finance the buyback from its internal resources.

The recommendation for buyback will be put for voting at the upcoming extraordinary general meeting (EGM), as per the provisions of Article 17 (4) of the Implementing Regulations of the Companies Law for Listed Joint Stock Companies.

Furthermore, Savola shall fulfill all the solvency requirements specified in Article 17 (3) of the Implementing Regulations based on a solvency report issued by the company’s external auditors. The report will be attached with the EGM invitation that will approve the transaction as per regulation.

The repurchased shares will have no voting rights in general assembly meetings.

The shares that will be repurchased after obtaining EGM approval represent 0.47 % of the total shares of Savola.

Savola launched LTIP in 2020 and currently owns about 1.31 million shares, which are allocated to eligible employees under the program’s approved criteria.