La Sauvagine, a Saputo cheese, is shown in a file photo.Christinne Muschi/The Globe and Mail
Saputo Inc. is buying and cancelling up to 1.2 million of its common shares from an unidentified arm's-length seller.
At current market prices, the shares would be worth about $59.6-million – although Saputo said in an announcement about the buyback on Tuesday that the actual price will be at a negotiated discount.
The purchase will be part of a stock buyback program that allows the Montreal-based cheese, dairy and bakery producer to buy up to 9.85 million of its shares over 12 months ending mid-November.
Saputo is Canada's largest dairy processor and the 12th biggest in the world. It also produces several brands of snack cakes.
According to figures posted by the TSX, there were more than 197 million shares outstanding and the company's market value was nearly $9.8-billion.