Mumbai,April 12: Wipro, the country's third largest software services company, is planning a share buy-back for the first time in its 71-year history.

The board of the Bangalore-based company, which has been in the news for a string of acquisitions over the past few months, will meet on April 20 to consider a buy-back of shares. The company will also announce its fourth- quarter results on the same day.

Companies have typically been using buy-backs to boost their share valuations and utilise surplus cash. Those going in for a buy-back will have to extinguish their equity capital to the extent of the shares bought, creating a higher return on capital employed and earnings per share.

A buy-back programme is often seen as a reflection of the management's confidence in the company's prospects.

As of December 31, Wipro had cash and cash equivalents of Rs 8,997 crore. Its gross cash (sum of cash and cash equivalents, money available for sale investments, and interest bearing deposits with corporate houses) stood at Rs 30,624 crore.

Wipro bought HealthPlan Services in February for $460 million - its fourth such transaction in just six months. Abidali Neemuchwala, chief executive officer and member of the board, is said to have played a key role in the acquisition.

The Wipro share price has risen 2.12 per cent this year, lagging some of its peers such as Infosys (whose share grew 7 per cent) and TCS (4 per cent). This may be one of the reasons for the company to consider a buyback.

The buyback is expected to bring the share of the Wipro promoters closer to the 75 per cent limit prescribed by Sebi. Data available from the bourses show that for the quarter ended December 31, 2015, the promoters' holding in Wipro stood at 73.35 per cent. Of this, 17.39 per cent are held by Azim Premji Trust.

Wipro shares ended with gains of nearly a per cent at Rs 568.20 on the BSE. The announcement was, however, made after market hours.