British restaurant and hotel owner Whitbread Plc has received clearance from the European Union for sale of the Costa coffee chain to Coca-Cola Co.
Whitbread said it now expects the deal to close in January next year and will implement a new £500 million share buyback programme after the deal close.
As the company said in a statement, ‘it is Whitbread's intention to return a significant majority of the net proceeds to shareholders. In line with this commitment, Whitbread today announces that following completion, it will commence a share buyback programme, using its existing authority granted by shareholders at the AGM on 27 June 2018.
‘The programme will commence shortly after completion of the Costa sale and conclude prior to Whitbread's full-year results announcement on 30 April 2019.’
The company will make a further announcement about these plans at its Capital Markets Day on 13 February.
News by Reuters, edited by ESM. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
