The board of directors of competitive mobile game platform Skillz has authorised a $65 million stock repurchase program.
Share repurchases are fairly common in the world of business, and allow companies at a beneficial place in the market to consolidate their own power, allowing for greater flexibility in how they achieve their strategic visions without the need to appease shareholders.
The move indicates strong confidence in Skillz, and the company’s belief that it has reached a stage where it can afford to cut shareholders out of the equation. The company will use its existing cash and cash equivalents to fund the buyback.
Mad Skillz
The program is the latest in a series of moves indicating strong growth for the company. June saw Skillz open a new office building in Las Vegas, overlooking the world-famous Las Vegas Strip, to serve as the company’s headquarters.
“This property represents an important milestone for Skillz,” said CEO Andrew Paradise. “The purchase furthers our long term commitment to building the future of competition in the world’s gaming capital. Establishing deeper roots in Las Vegas allows us to draw from expertise in world-class entertainment while attracting world-class talent to the company as we grow. We’re grateful to relocate our headquarters to a place that supports our mission and would not have been able to proceed without the full support from the State of Nevada.”
The company’s growing strength has seen it make a number of acquisitions, such as mobile advertising outfit Aarki. The company has also been a part of several high profile collaborations, including multi-year partnerships with American sports leagues UFC and NFL.
As part of the latter, Skillz collaborated with the league to host the NFL & Skillz Game Developer Challenge, with developers competing for the right to use the NFL brand and club logos in mobile games.
