UWM Holdings Corp. shares rose 23% to $6.80 after the company said SFS Holding Corp., its principal shareholder, terminated a previously announced secondary offering of Class A common stock and concurrent stock repurchase.
The offering was intended to increase UWM’s public float by 50%, making it a more liquid stock for larger indexes and institutional investors, as well as using the company’s buyback authorization to reduce the number of fully diluted shares outstanding.
The company said the market’s reaction to the offering resulted in a share price level that SFS wasn’t willing to sell. With the termination of the offering, no shares of stock will be sold by SFS.
UWM said it intends to accelerate its previously announced buyback program and defer its plans to increase public float.
Volume for the stock was 8 million shares at 9:55 a.m. ET, compared to the 65-day average volume of 2.4 million shares. The stock hit its 52-week low of $5.41 on Thursday.