Colombia’s Sura and Argos Both Announce Buybacks
Colombia · CORPORATE
Key Facts
- —What happened Grupo Sura and Grupo Argos, two of Colombia’s largest companies, both moved to buy back their own shares this week.
- —How big Sura’s board proposed buying back up to 500 billion pesos (about US$159 million) in company stock.
- —What it means Both companies say investors are pricing their stock below what the underlying businesses are worth.
- —The catch These firms shared owners for decades, but that structure ended in 2025, so this is not coordinated.
- —Who it affects The buybacks affect thousands of shareholders who trade both stocks on Colombia’s stock exchange in Bogotá.
- —What comes next Sura shareholders vote on the plan next Thursday, September 10, and Argos keeps buying into 2027.
Two of Medellín’s best-known companies are buying back their own stock this week, even though they no longer share an owner.
Grupo Sura and Grupo Argos are two of Colombia’s biggest companies. Both are moving this week to buy back their own stock.
Grupo Sura’s board approved a new buyback plan on Thursday, September 3. It wants to repurchase up to 500 billion pesos (about US$159 million) in shares.
Sura Proposes a Large Share Buyback
Shareholders must still approve the plan. They vote at a special assembly on September 10, in Bogotá.
If approved, Sura could buy back stock until March 2028. The company can repurchase either class of stock, ordinary or preferred.
Sura plans to fund part of the buyback from money already inside the company. About 363 billion pesos (about US$116 million) will move from untaxed reserves into a special buyback fund.
Sura said the plan reflects its confidence that the stock is worth more than its current price. The company pointed to strong recent profits as support for the move.
This is not Sura’s first buyback push. The company ran a smaller, 300 billion peso (about US$95.6 million) program starting in 2023.
Argos Adds to Its Own Buyback
Grupo Argos disclosed its own purchase the same day: Thursday, September 3. It bought back nearly 39 billion pesos (about US$12.4 million) in stock in a single trade.
The purchase covered 1.36 million ordinary shares at 21,900 pesos each (about US$6.98). It also included 560,390 preferred shares at 16,500 pesos each (about US$5.26).
Chief Financial Officer Felipe Aristizábal said the trade covered roughly two-thirds of Argos’s buybacks so far this year. He said Argos aims to direct capital toward its highest-return options.
The purchase is part of a wider effort called ACE 1.0, launched in August 2026. Argos set aside 500 billion pesos (about US$159 million) for buybacks over six to 12 months.
Argos’s board first approved the ACE 1.0 program back in March 2026. The company then launched it publicly five months later, in August.
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| SOUTHERN COPPER | 193.97 | -0.26% | +104.01% | 194.48 | 199.36 | 192.59 | 367,102 |
What Argos Hopes to Achieve
Argos says the goal is to close the gap between its share price and its real value. It also promised to double its dividend per share within three years.
The company is targeting total returns of 75 to 100 percent for shareholders over that period. That figure includes both dividends and any rise in the stock price.
Why Both Say Their Stock Is Cheap
Sura and Argos gave similar reasons for buying back stock. Both said investors are pricing their shares below what the underlying businesses are worth.
Credicorp Capital, an investment bank, made that case for Sura in April. It said the stock traded 43 percent below the value of its underlying assets.
That discount was well above Sura’s typical average of about 11 percent. Buying back stock can lift the price for investors who keep their shares.
It also signals that a company’s own board trusts its future earnings. Both stocks trade on the Bolsa de Valores de Colombia, the country’s main stock exchange.
Everyone in Colombia’s markets calls it the BVC for short. Colombian securities rules require firms to disclose large stock purchases like these right away.
Sura and Argos both filed notices with the Financial Superintendency, the country’s markets regulator. Those filings are how outside reporters learned the exact details of both buybacks.
Two Companies That Used to Be One Group
Sura and Argos were both once part of the Grupo Empresarial Antioqueño, or GEA. That is a decades-old alliance of major companies based in Medellín, Colombia.
For more than 46 years, GEA companies held cross-ownership stakes in one another. Sura and Argos ended that structure in July 2025, splitting into fully separate companies.
The split moved 10.8 trillion pesos (about US$3.4 billion) in Sura shares to Argos shareholders. Each company kept its own board and its own strategy afterward.
Grupo Sura kept its stakes in Suramericana insurance and Sura Asset Management. Grupo Argos kept the cement maker Cementos Argos, the energy firm Celsia and toll-road operator Odinsa.
That means this week’s buybacks were not a joint decision by a single group. Sura and Argos now operate as independent companies.
What Happens Next
Sura’s shareholders vote on its buyback plan on September 10 in Bogotá. If they approve it, the company can begin buying shares soon after.
Argos will keep buying shares under its current plan for several more months. Its ACE 1.0 program is due to run into 2027.
Investors in both companies should see fewer shares outstanding if the plans go ahead. That can raise per-share profit numbers even if the business itself does not grow.
More: Colombia news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a stock buyback?
A stock buyback is when a company uses its own cash to purchase its own shares. This can raise the stock’s price and return money to the shareholders who remain.
How much are Sura and Argos spending on their buybacks?
Grupo Sura proposed a buyback of up to 500 billion pesos, about US$159 million. Grupo Argos has a similar 500 billion peso (about US$159 million) program already underway.
Are Grupo Sura and Grupo Argos still the same company?
No, they are separate companies today. They shared ownership through a historic alliance called the GEA until splitting apart in July 2025.
When does Sura’s buyback need final approval?
Grupo Sura’s shareholders vote on the plan at a special assembly on September 10, 2026. If approved, the company can buy shares through March 2028.
What is Argos’s ACE 1.0 program?
ACE 1.0 is Grupo Argos’s plan to close the gap between its stock price and its real value. The program also aims to double the dividend per share within three years.
Sources: La República, Valora Analitik, Infobae Colombia, El Colombiano, Bloomberg Línea, Grupo SURA investor relations, Grupo Argos investor relations, Credicorp Capital research.
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