i-mobile’s latest buyback is doing two jobs at once. The internet marketing group approved repurchases of up to 1.2 million shares, or 2.14% of shares outstanding excluding treasury stock, for up to ¥700 million between June 12 and June 30. It also disclosed agreements from chairman Toshihiko Tanaka and president Tetsuya Noguchi to sell part of their holdings. Management said the package is meant to strengthen shareholder returns, improve financial and capital efficiency, support continued compliance with Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime market listing criteria, and preserve capital-policy flexibility for future growth opportunities.
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Overall authorization | Up to 1,200,000 shares, 2.14% of shares outstanding excluding treasury stock, for up to ¥700 million, from June 12 to June 30 |
| First ToSTNeT-3 order | Up to 400,000 shares for up to ¥196.8 million, set at ¥492, the June 11 closing price, for 8:45 a.m. on June 12 |
| Follow-on buying | Ordinary market purchases may continue through June 30, with capacity determined by what is actually acquired in the ToSTNeT-3 trade |
| Stated purpose | Shareholder returns, better financial and capital efficiency, continued Prime market listing compliance, and capital-policy flexibility for future growth |
| Large shareholder sales | Chairman Tanaka and President Noguchi agreed to sell part of their holdings; their January 31 stakes were 6.75% and 6.46% |
| Share retirement | Undecided |
The mechanics matter. i-mobile will start with a ToSTNeT-3 off-hours buy order at ¥492, the June 11 closing price, at 8:45 a.m. on June 12. That tranche is capped at 400,000 shares and ¥196.8 million, and the company said the order is valid only for that trading session. If the buyback continues after that, it will do so through ordinary market purchases until June 30, with the remaining capacity determined by whatever is actually bought in the ToSTNeT-3 trade. The company said it will publish the June 12 result after the session ends.
The unusual part is the governance language. i-mobile said the repurchase is intended to reduce dependence on specific individual shareholders while strengthening governance and maintaining or improving stock liquidity. As of January 31, Tanaka held 3,784,300 shares, or 6.75% of shares outstanding excluding treasury stock, and Noguchi held 3,624,300 shares, or 6.46%. That makes this less like a routine cash-return exercise and more like ownership-structure maintenance with a shareholder-return benefit attached.
Management also placed the move inside a broader shareholder-return policy. i-mobile says it is targeting stable dividends with a payout ratio of about 50% over the four years through the year ending July 2027, supplemented by flexible buybacks. The same day, quarterly results left full-year guidance unchanged at ¥22.0 billion in sales and ¥4.5 billion in operating profit, and showed cash and deposits of ¥22.636 billion at April 30. Still, the headline authorization is not the same thing as completed buying. The June 12 ToSTNeT-3 order may be partly filled or not filled at all, follow-on market purchases depend on what capacity remains, and any cancellation of repurchased shares is still undecided.