Information Disclosure, CEO Traits and Share Buyback Completion Rates

Open market buybacks are not firm commitments and there is limited evidence on whether firms repurchase the intended shares. We employ a comprehensive set of hand-collected data on information disclosure on open market share buyback announcements and the respective buyback trades in UK. We assess whether CEO traits can affect the buyback completion rates. We show that information disclosure is one of the major determinants of buyback completion rates. Like previous studies, we find that large and widely held firms, firms conducting subsequent buyback programmes, and firms which complete their previous programmes, have higher completion rates. Finally, we find that firms with senior CEOs, who hold external directorships and have received a business education, are more likely to complete their buyback programs. Our results suggest there is clear relationship between information disclosure, CEO traits and buyback completion rates.