MONTREAL - Saputo Inc. (TSX:SAP) says it's buying and cancelling up to 1.2 million of its common shares from an unidentified arm's-length seller.
At current market prices, the shares would be worth about $59.6 million — although Saputo says in Tuesday's announcement the actual price will be at a negotiated discount.
The purchase will be part of a stock buyback program that allows the Montreal-based cheese, dairy and bakery producer to buy up to 9.85 million of its shares over 12 months ending mid-November.
Saputo is Canada's largest dairy processor and the 12th biggest in the world. It also produces several brands of snack cakes.
Its shares traded at $49.58 on the Toronto Stock Exchange at mid-afternoon. According to figures posted by the TSX, there were more than 197 million shares outstanding and the company's market value was nearly $9.8 billion.
