By Joe Hoppe

Sibanye-Stillwater Ltd. said Tuesday that it will launch a share buyback program, repurchasing up to 5% of its ordinary shares on the market in issue as of May 31.

The Johannesburg-listed precious metals miner will buy back up to 147.7 million ordinary shares on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in a program running from June 2 to April 6. The company said the buyback won't compromise the payment of dividends.

The share buyback would be worth 9.62 billion south African rand ($700.3 million) based on Sibanye's closing price of ZAR65.11 on Monday.

"The board considers the repurchase of our undervalued shares in the market as the most appropriate and value enhancing allocation of surplus capital at this stage, to ensure ongoing delivery of superior returns to shareholders," Chief Executive Neal Froneman said.

The buyback will be conducted by Morgan Stanley, which will make investment decisions independently from Sibanye-Stillwater.

Shares in Johannesburg at 1100 GMT were up ZAR2.51, or 3.9%, at ZAR67.62.

Write to Joe Hoppe at joseph.hoppe@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

06-01-21 0722ET