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Shareholders eligible for the stock buyback should receive payment by the end of May.
Quilter has priced its odd-lot offer as it moves ahead with its plan to reduce the number of shareholders on its share register. The wealth manager says the move will give small shareholders, many of whom received shares when Old Mutual unbundled the group, a cost-effective way to sell their shares.
Shareholders with fewer than 100 shares are included in the offer to repurchase their stock at a 5% premium to the market price. Investors on its SA share register will receive 2,812.63c per share, while those on its UK register will receive 120.24p per unit. Only those recorded on the respective share registers on 15 May will be eligible, with payment expected to be made around 29 May.
When it announced the offer in March, the company said it expected the move to cost it up to £30 million and would likely halve its shareholder numbers.
Quilter, previously called Old Mutual Wealth Management, was unbundled and listed on the London Stock Exchange by Old Mutual plc in 2018 as part of the managed separation of its component businesses. Its shares were distributed to Old Mutual shareholders, many of whom were policyholders who received their shares as part of the insurance group’s demutualisation in 1999. Nedbank conducted a similar odd-lot offer in December 2018.
Last week, Quilter said its board of directors planned to recommend the approval of its 2019 final dividend at next month’s annual general meeting due to its strong cash levels and capital position. If approved, payment will be made on 18 May. Odd-lot holders are entitled to the dividend provided they still held their shares on the dividend record date on 3 April.
Due to the impact of Covid-19, which has disrupted postal services in a number of countries including SA, the group said earlier this month that odd-lot holders wanting to retain their shares could elect to do so by telephoning the company’s registrars.
