Typically, buybacks are carried out in one of two
Post# of 15187
1. Tender Offer
Shareholders may be presented with a tender offer by the company to submit, or tender, a portion or all of their shares within a certain time frame. The tender offer will stipulate both the number of shares the company is looking to repurchase and the price range they are willing to pay (almost always at a premium to the market price). When investors take up the offer, they will state the number of shares they want to tender along with the price they are willing to accept. Once the company has received all of the offers, it will find the right mix to buy the shares at the lowest cost.
2. Open Market
The second alternative a company has is to buy shares on the open market, just like an individual investor would, at the market price. It is important to note, however, that when a company announces a buyback it is usually perceived by the market as a positive thing, which often causes the share price to shoot up.