Great Eastern Shipping buyback: up to Rs 1,530 per share, Rs 900 crore size

The Great Eastern Shipping Company Ltd has announced a share buyback through the open market, following approval by its Board of Directors at a meeting held on 27 August 2026.

The buyback will be conducted via the stock exchange mechanism and will target only non-promoter shareholders, in line with SEBI’s buyback regulations.

Key terms

• Route: Open market buyback through stock exchange mechanism
• Type of shares: Fully paid-up equity shares of face value Rs 10 each
• Maximum buyback price: Rs 1,530 per equity share
• Maximum buyback size: Rs 900,00,00,000 (Rs 900 crore), excluding transaction and related expenses
• Indicative maximum number of shares: 58,82,352 equity shares
• Indicative maximum as % of equity capital: 4.12% of total paid-up equity share capital as on 27 August 2026
• Regulatory cap: Not more than 25% of existing paid-up equity capital
• Maximum buyback size as % of capital + free reserves: 7.19% (standalone) and 6.34% (consolidated) as per audited financials as on 31 March 2026
• Minimum utilisation: At least 75% of the maximum buyback size, i.e. Rs 675,00,00,000 (Rs 675 crore)
• Indicative minimum number of shares (at max price): 44,11,764 equity shares
• Promoter participation: Promoters and promoter group cannot participate in this open-market buyback

Eligibility and how it works

Since this is an open market buyback, there is no record date mentioned in the filing and no fixed entitlement ratio. Instead, the company will buy shares on the stock exchanges from time to time, subject to:

• The maximum buyback price of Rs 1,530 per share, and
• The overall cash outlay cap of Rs 900 crore, with at least Rs 675 crore to be deployed.

Any shareholder other than the promoters and promoter group who sells shares on the exchanges during the buyback period may, if their trades are picked up by the company’s broker, effectively participate in the buyback. There is no guarantee that any particular shareholder’s shares will be bought, as purchases depend on market trades and the company’s discretion within regulatory limits.

The company has stated that a public announcement detailing the process, timelines and other statutory details of the buyback will be released in due course, in accordance with the SEBI (Buy-Back of Securities) Regulations, 2018.

Impact on shareholding pattern

According to Annexure B (page 4) of the filing, the pre-buyback shareholding pattern as on 21 August 2026 is:

• Promoter and promoter group (including persons acting in concert): 4,29,36,248 shares (30.07%)
• Foreign investors (including FPIs, FIIs, NRIs, foreign banks, OCBs): 4,25,91,979 shares (29.83%)
• Mutual funds, financial institutions/banks, AIFs, NBFCs, insurance companies: 1,78,31,858 shares (12.49%)
• Others (individuals, bodies corporate, trusts etc.): 3,94,07,076 shares (27.60%)
• Total: 14,27,67,161 shares (100%)

Based on the indicative maximum number of shares that may be bought back, the filing provides an illustrative post-buyback pattern:

• Promoter and promoter group: 4,29,36,248 shares (31.37%)
• Public shareholders: 9,39,48,561 shares (68.63%)
• Total: 13,68,84,809 shares (100%)

The company notes that the actual number of shares bought back and the final post-buyback shareholding pattern will be determined after completion of the buyback, depending on the total shares purchased and the prices at which they are acquired.

The Board meeting in which the buyback was approved commenced at 3:00 p.m. and concluded at 4:10 p.m. on 27 August 2026.