Infosys, the country’s second-largest IT services company, on Thursday announced a share buyback of Rs 9,300 crore via open market route for a price not exceeding Rs 1,850 per equity share.

The Infosys’ board also declared an interim dividend of Rs 16.50 per share, an increase of 10 per cent over FY22 interim dividend.

The total amount of interim dividend would be about Rs 6,940 crore, Infosys said in a statement.

“The board in its meeting held today approved...buyback of equity shares from the open market route through the Indian stock exchanges, amounting to Rs 9,300 crore (maximum buyback size, excluding buyback tax) at a price not exceeding Rs 1,850 per share (maximum buyback price), subject to shareholders’ approval,” the statement said.

The buyback price is 30 per cent higher than the scrip’s closing price of Rs 1,419.7 apiece on Thursday.

Under a share buyback or repurchase, a company buys back its own shares from investors or shareholders. It is seen as an alternative, tax-efficient way to return money to shareholders.

Last year, the Infosys’ board had approved an up to Rs 9,200 crore buyback plan, which commenced on June 25, 2021, and ended on September 14, 2021.