Zurich — Nestlé announced a Sf20bn ($21bn) share buyback programme on Tuesday, in its first strategic move after Dan Loeb’s hedge fund Third Point bought a stake and urged the Swiss food company to shake up its "staid culture". Nestlé will start repurchasing shares July 4 and the programme will run through 2020, the Vevey, Switzerland-based maker of Gerber baby food and DiGiorno pizza said in a statement on Tuesday. The company said it expected a net debt to Ebitda ratio of about 1.5 in 2020. CEO Mark Schneider is reversing Nestlé’s policy on buybacks just days after being urged to do so by Third Point. The food maker hasn’t had a repurchase program since 2014, and Schneider said in February in his first public appearance as CEO that buying back stock is a lower priority than reinvesting in Nestlé’s business and paying dividends. The Swiss company’s reaction echoes the strategy shift Unilever announced in April after Kraft Heinz’s failed takeover bid. The Anglo-Dutch company said it...
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