The only consideration between BB, dividend, acquisition or...

The only consideration between BB, dividend, acquisition or organic growth is which have superior return for the same amount invested over the same time frame. That's all there is to it, nothing to do with size of the company or the past, ROIC is forward looking and the singular most important job for a CEO is choosing wisely to maximise capital allocation.

The key word here is surplus cash, this means cash in excess of working capital requirement for both existing and future new projects planned (i.e. can be used to run new marketing campaigns or begin new R&D for new product or put into a long-term fixed deposit). If capital is anticipated to fund IC this is considered working capital and not surplus. I agree though ideally organic growth is always best.