Guide book

The complete buyback guide

Buybacks run on ratios — entitlement, acceptance, reservation. What actually happens when a tender offer opens, how much of your holding gets bought, and what you keep after tax.

6 guides3 topics23 min end to end

Start reading →Read the whole book on one page

Contents

Buyback Basics

What a buyback is, why companies run one, and which routes still exist.

2 guides

01What Is a Share Buyback, and Why Do Companies Run One?A buyback is a company using its own cash to purchase and cancel its own shares. Here is what it does to the share count, why boards choose it over a dividend, and what it signals.4 min read 02Tender Offer vs Open Market — Why Only One Route RemainsSEBI phased out the open market buyback route through stock exchanges. Here is how the two mechanisms differed, why the tender offer won, and what that means for shareholders.3 min read

Participating

Record date, entitlement, tendering, and how much actually gets accepted.

3 guides

03How to Tender Shares in a BuybackThe record date, the entitlement, the offer window, and the exchange acquisition window. A step-by-step walkthrough of participating in a tender offer buyback.4 min read 04Entitlement Ratio and Acceptance Ratio — The Two Numbers That Decide EverythingEntitlement is what you may tender. Acceptance is what actually gets bought. The gap between them is where most buyback expectations go wrong.4 min read 05Buyback Arbitrage — The Trade, and Why It Is Not Free MoneyBuy before the record date, tender at the premium, sell what comes back. The gain on the accepted portion has to cover the loss on the rest — and since 2024, the tax.4 min read

Tax & Returns

What the buyback arbitrage really earns after the 2024 tax change.

1 guide

06Buyback Taxation After October 2024 — What Changed and Why It MattersBuyback proceeds are now taxed as deemed dividend in the shareholder's hands at slab rates, and the cost of the tendered shares becomes a capital loss. The full picture.4 min read

These guides summarise the SEBI (Buyback of Securities) Regulations, 2018 as amended, and the taxation regime applicable to buybacks completed on or after 1 October 2024. Rules and rates change — confirm the current position and take professional advice on your own tax position. Nothing here is investment or tax advice.

Put the whole process on rails.

BidFlow handles applications, printing, live data and allotment across your entire network.

Book a Demo