MHP to approve share buyback at October 19 AGM

MHP (LSE: MHPC LI), the largest poultry producer in Ukraine, listed approval of a share buyback on the agenda of its October 19 EGM, according to a company statement released yesterday. Yegor Samusenko: This is the third time MHP has planned to start a share buyback program. Based on two completed buybacks, we do not expect a significant impact of this new initiative on the stock price or on liquidity. In September 2009, the company announced an EGM to approve a buyback and later, on October 5, 2009 conditions were approved to buyback up to 2.5% of total outstanding shares within a range from USD 1 to USD 15 per share over one year. We did not notice a market reaction to that EGM announcement, but at the time conditions were approved, the stock was at USD 10.5 per share. Within two weeks, the stock was up 19% and stayed stable at USD 12.3-12.4 per share, while the UX was between minus 2% and plus 15% within the same period. On June 3, 2010, another EGM approved a buyback program of up to 5% of outstanding shares within a price range of up to USD 18 per share. The stock generally moved in line with the UX within the following two weeks. Later on, the company reported the total amount of shares bought back was around 2% at USD 13.36 per share, which was generally in line with market prices, assuming equal distribution of the buyback between both periods.