Software exporter Majesco’s board has approved an interim dividend of ₹974 per share, in what could be one of the highest dividend payouts ever in the history of India’s stock market. Shareholders will collectively get ₹2,788 crore as dividend payout.

“The board of directors at its meeting held on December 15, 2020, approved payment of interim dividend at the rate of 19,480 per cent or ₹974 per equity share of the face value of ₹5 each for the financial year 2020-21,” the company said in a filing to the exchanges. In July, private equity firm Thoma Bravo had acquired the US arm of Majesco for $594 million. Majesco had then said that the proceeds from the sale will be distributed to shareholders because 99 per cent of the revenue earned was from the US subsidiary. Majesco owned 74 per cent stake in this unit.

Majesco started out as the US subsidiary of Mastek and in 2014 was spun off as a separate entity. Key shareholders in Majesco Limited include Ashank Desai, Sudhakar Ram and Ketan Mehta, who were part of the founding team of Mumbai-based software services provider Mastek. According to shareholding data, promoters hold 38.23 per cent in Majesco Limited, a provider of cloud-based insurance software, and public shareholders, which includes financial institutions, account for 61.77 per cent of the total equity. The record date for the dividend is December 25 and the ex-dividend date is December 23. The earliest dividend payout, according to the company, will be on December 30.

Additionally, the Majesco board has approved a buyback up to 7.47 million equity shares, representing 25 per cent of the total paid-up equity capital of the company, as on September 30, 2020, at ₹845 a share, for an amount not exceeding ₹631.26 crore. The company’s shares closed at ₹982 after hitting 5 per cent upper circuit during intra-day trade. The shares were trading at ₹401 when the US deal was announced in July.

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