London, Jan 7, 2026, 09:26 GMT — Regular session
Prudential plc shares slipped in early London trade on Wednesday, pulling back from a fresh 52-week high after the insurer launched a new share buyback. Prudential (PRU.L) was down 1.4% at 1,179 pence, after opening at 1,205 and hitting an intraday low of 1,176; the stock touched 1,213 pence on Tuesday. 1
Prudential said on Tuesday it would repurchase up to $1.2 billion of ordinary shares, a move that reduces the number of shares in issue and returns cash to shareholders. The programme, scheduled to run until no later than Dec. 18, 2026, includes $500 million of recurring capital returns and $700 million tied to net proceeds from the ICICI Prudential Asset Management IPO, with the remainder earmarked for 2027; the group has said it expects to return more than $5 billion over 2024-2027 before that further IPO-related return. Chief Executive Anil Wadhwani said: “I am pleased with the progress we are making in executing our strategy.” 2
An announcement on Wednesday showed Prudential has already begun buying shares under the programme, purchasing 316,603 shares on Jan. 6 at an average price of about 1,199.48 pence, with the company set to cancel the shares. Prudential said the buyback cut its issued share capital to about 2.548 billion shares. 3
The new buyback follows the flotation of Prudential’s Indian asset management joint venture. Prudential sold a 4.5% stake in ICICI Prudential Asset Management ahead of the IPO for about $545 million, and said proceeds from the private placement and the IPO would be returned to shareholders, subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals. 4
The buyback announcement helped lift the stock in the previous session, after a run that put Prudential near its highs for the year. “Prudential is staging gains thanks to the launch of a $1.2 billion share buyback programme,” said Victoria Scholar, head of investment at interactive investor, in a market note on Tuesday. 5
But the company has flagged limits on how much support the programme can offer in a choppy market. Prudential said there was “no guarantee” the buyback would be completed in full, and that the pace and timing would depend on market conditions and execution considerations. 6
