Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) has announced that it recently received a notice from TRC Capital Investment Corp., regarding a “mini-tender offer” to purchase up to 3 million shares of Verizon common stock. However, the offer price of $31.95 per share is 2.9% lower than the current market level and 4.4% below the closing price on August 1.
Rejecting the offer, Verizon has labeled it as “unsolicited.” Mini-tender offers typically aim for less than 5% of a company’s outstanding shares. In this case, the 3 million-share stake being sought represents only about 0.1% of the total 4.204 billion outstanding shares as of June 30.
Despite experiencing a slight 0.6% increase in morning trading on Thursday, Verizon’s stock has struggled throughout the year, dropping by 16.6%. It did, however, show a temporary improvement recently, bouncing back by 4.5% after reaching a 13-year low of $31.46 on July 17.
In comparison, the broader market index, Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), has managed to gain 6.9% year-to-date.
Verizon advises its shareholders to turn down this mini-tender offer given the below-market price being offered and invites them to hold onto their stock as the company continues to navigate through these challenging market conditions.