Talabat Holding, a leading on-demand online ordering and delivery platform in the Mena region, has announced that its board of directors has recommended a share buyback programme of up to 5% of the company’s issued share capital, to be executed over a period of up to two years from the date of shareholder approval.
This initiative, alongside the company’s recently announced strategic investments to support future growth and its ongoing dividend policy, reflects a disciplined and coherent capital allocation framework, said talabat in a statement.
It also underscores the board’s confidence in the company’s long-term growth strategy and its commitment to delivering sustained value to shareholders.
The buyback, if approved, will be executed through open-market transactions on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM), in accordance with the applicable regulations and under the oversight of the board of directors, it stated.
The programme is expected to be funded from talabat’s existing cash resources and ongoing free cash flow generation. The actual number of shares repurchased will depend on market conditions, prevailing share price levels, available liquidity, and other relevant factors, and there can be no assurance that the full 5% will be acquired.
On the share buyback programme, CEO Toon Gyssels said it reflects talabat's confidence in its future and the belief that the current market valuation and share price do not fully reflect the long-term strength of the platform.
"The buyback, combined with our dividend policy, underscores our commitment to delivering attractive total returns to shareholders while continuing to invest strategically in the growth of our food, grocery and retail categories," he stated.
According to Talabat, shareholders will get to vote on a number of resolutions at the AGM, including the approval of the final dividend of $219 million (3.45 fils per share) in respect of the second half of 2025.
This brings its total dividends for 2025 to $421 million and cumulative dividends since IPO to $531 million.
"With a strong balance sheet, robust cash generation and continued investment in growth across food, grocery and retail, the proposed share buyback reflects the Board’s view that share repurchases represent an efficient deployment of excess capital at the Company’s current valuation," said Gyssels.
Separately, the Board has mandated management to appoint a liquidity provider for the company’s shares on the DFM. This appointment is intended to enhance order book depth and improve overall trading liquidity for talabat’s shares on the DFM, he added.