January 3, 2023
As part of the financial framework that Ahold Delhaize has put in place to support its Leading Together strategy, the company must ensure that it maintains a balanced approach between funding growth in key channels and returning excess liquidity to shareholders. Cancelling all or some of the common shares that were acquired through the programme will bring about the reduction in capital that the programme was designed to accomplish for Ahold Delhaize.
The programme will be carried out in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations, the authority that was previously granted at Ahold Delhaize’s 2022 annual general meeting of shareholders on April 13, 2022, and the authority that will be granted (if it is granted) by the annual general meeting on April 12, 2023.
One or more stages of the share repurchase programme may be carried out simultaneously. An intermediary is required to complete the purchase of the shares for each of them according to his or her own preferences during open and closed periods, in accordance with the Market Abuse Regulation (also known as “MAR”), and within the parameters of the pre-defined execution. Treasury shares are accumulated on the treasury share account after being purchased from the market and held there until they are cancelled. It is not possible to cancel shares in accordance with the relevant statutory provisions any earlier than two months after a resolution to cancel shares has been adopted and made public. Ahold Delhaize is dedicated to the share buyback programme; however, the programme may be modified in response to shifts in the company’s corporate activities, including but not limited to significant mergers and acquisitions activity.
Ahold Delhaize will provide regular updates on the progress of the program by means of press releases.
This communication includes forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical facts may be forward-looking statements. Words such as commences, expects, before, the end of, 2023, maintaining, growth, support, strategy reduce, will, if granted, pre-defined, may, until, after, committed, continue subject to or other similar words or expressions are typically used to identify forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that are difficult to predict and that may cause actual results of Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize N.V. (the “Company”) to differ materially from future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to, the risk factors set forth in the Company’s public filings and other disclosures. Forward-looking statements reflect the current views of the Company’s management and assumptions based on information currently available to the Company’s management. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made and the Company does not assume any obligation to update such statements, except as required by law.
October 26, 2022
