Facebook said it plans to buy back $6 billion worth of its own stock, its first repurchase program.
According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the buyback involves Class A common stock and will start in the first quarter of 2017. The program does not have an end date.
The timing of the buyback and actual amount of stock to repurchase will depend on a wide range of factors, such as price, general business and market conditions, and alternative investment opportunities.
According to Facebook, the program will be executed consistent with the company's capital allocation strategy of prioritizing investment to grow the business in the long term. At the moment, the social network has $26 billion in cash and marketable securities.
In a separate filling to the SEC, Facebook said its chief accounting officer, Jas Athwal, will resign from the company on February 17, 2017 after nine years at Facebook.
Shares of the world’s largest social networking company rose by about 12% in 2016, giving it a market value of $337.8 billion.
