Irish books and stationery retailer Eason has spent €2.7 million buying back shares from its investors.
This included 43 shareholders (some 20 per cent of investors in the company) selling their entire holdings in the retailer.
Filings in the Companies Registration Office show that a total of 62 shareholders (about 30 per cent of Eason’s shareholder base) chose to participate in the buyback scheme. Some chose to sell only part of their holdings in the business.
It is understood that none of Eason’s largest investors and shareholder families participated in the buyback of stock.
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Some 1.37 million shares in Eason were purchased at €2 apiece. This represented 7 per cent of the total issued shares in the company, stock that has now been cancelled.
This scheme was part of a wider move by the board of Eason to return up to €14 million to shareholders, via share buy-backs and dividend payments. A special interim dividend of €4 million was paid out in December 2024.
Permission for the buybacks covers 18 months, so the company might yet seek to purchase additional shares in further tranches out to late 2026.
In September 2024, Mazars valued the trade of Eason at €39.9 million, reflecting its Ebitda and applying industry multiples
The buyback scheme was designed to provide an exit mechanism for shareholders wishing to realise the value of their shares in what is a privately-owned company.
In a letter to shareholders in advance of an extraordinary general meeting in April to approve the buybacks, Eason chairman David Dilger said the share scheme was the “best and most effective strategic option” for shareholders to obtain some value from their holdings.
He said a number of options had been considered by the board over the past two years, including a trade sale of the business.
In September 2024, Mazars valued the trade of Eason at €39.9 million, reflecting its Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) and applying industry multiples.
In addition to the near-€40 million value of the trade, the documents noted that the two remaining properties owned by Eason – its flagship store on O’Connell Street in Dublin city centre and an outlet in Blanchardstown – were valued at €22.5 million by Mazars, while it also has €9.2 million in surplus cash.
“In the future, there is always a possibility that the Eason business will be strategically acquired by a third party, but the board are not in a position to provide an insight into the probability or timing of such an event,” Mr Dilger told shareholders at that time.
He added that Eason now has a level of surplus capital that is unlikely to be required, with the business expected to generate Ebitda of about €8 million a year, and cash flow of €3 million to €4 million annually.
