I don't fully understand public company nuances with regard to share repurchase/cancellation, but common sense to me would dictate that any cash generated internally would be used first and foremost to payback debt, not cancel/repurchase shares. Also, from a practical standpoint, if the 10bn of shares are held separately as collateral pending buy down of the debt, then surely repayment of that debt would merely lead to destruction of the share certs. The cash transaction is in the debt repayment not in purchasing the shares. This would lead me to believe that this activity is not related to cancellation.
Anyone care to comment?