Vinci has initiated the next step of its buyback programme with a €200m ($223m) agreement.
Earlier this year, shareholders of Vinci authorised a plan by the firm to purchase up to €2bn ($2.2bn) of shares, or up to 10% of the number of shares making up the firm’s share capital between April and October next year.
Vinci is the latest of a number of infrastructure firms opting to utilise share buyback programmes, with Balfour Beatty starting its £150m buyback programme earlier this year after posting a strong performance throughout the pandemic.
The moves come as cheap liquidity presents an opportunity for publicly listed companies to increase their shares and return funds to shareholders without usually generating taxes, with Goldman Sachs saying that over $800bn of stock buyback could be conducted in 2021.
In the USA, progressive Democrat senators have called for legislation that would put a 2% tax on the manoeuvre.