Markit Caps Off Accelerated Share Repurchase Worth $200 Million

Markit Ltd. (Nasdaq: MRKT), a global provider of financial information services, has constructed a $200 million accelerated share repurchase in tandem with several leading banks, following earlier share repurchases this summer, according to a Markit statement.

Back in June, Markit launched a secondary public offering of its common shares to investors. The new public offering saw roughly 24.5 million common shares for sale, having granted underwriters the right to purchase up to approximately 1.7 million additional common shares from the selling shareholders.

With its latest accelerated share repurchase, Markit will see $200 million with JP Morgan Securities LLC and Morgan Stanley & Co. Collectively, the transaction completes an overall $500 million share repurchase program between June and now, coupled with a $50 million share repurchase that was approved by Markit’s board of directors.

Per the accelerated share repurchase, Markit is slated to pay an initial $200 million to both JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley to repurchase outstanding Markit common shares, which is expected to reduce its share count by approximately 5.1 million shares.

According to Jeff Gooch, Chief Financial Officer at Markit, in a recent statement on the share repurchase, “Our share repurchases in 2015 demonstrate our disciplined and balanced capital allocation strategy and our confidence in Markit’s growth prospects.”

“Our strong balance sheet and significant free cash flow generation provide the flexibility to complete buybacks while continuing to pursue value enhancing acquisitions. With this transaction, we’re delivering on our commitment to drive shareholder value,” he added.

Markit recently made headlines after it reported its Q3 operating metrics for the 2015 fiscal year. For Q3 2015, Markit saw its revenues climb to $277.3 million, up 2.8% YoY from $269.7 million in Q3 2014. Year-to-date, the story was largely similar, having ascended to $821.9 million for the first nine months of the fiscal year, representing a jump of 3.6% YoY from $793.7 million over the same period in 2014.