Russia’s War & Peace Media Tripling Buyback Price as Stock Jumps

OAO War & Peace Media Group, a Russian television production company, may triple the price it’s offering to buy back shares as the stock heads for the biggest two-day jump on record.

The St. Petersburg-based media holding may pay 30 rubles (91 cents) per share after increasing its offer from 7-10 rubles, Vitaly Fedko, the company’s general manager, said by phone from St. Petersburg today. The buyback may start between mid-August and mid-September, he said.

War & Peace surged 40 percent to 4.725 rubles as of 4:14 p.m. in Moscow, extending yesterday’s 40 percent gain. A close at that level would mark its strongest two-day advance since December 2011, when the stock was listed on the Micex Index.

The company decided to buy back shares after investors complained about valuations, Fedko said. The stock slid 85 percent from the start of the year through July 23, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ksenia Galouchko in Moscow at kgalouchko1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Gavin Serkin at gserkin@bloomberg.net