I agree with you on the buyback vs consolidation. I would much prefer to see a steady and sustainable share buyback, even if this was staged over several years. Using a portion of the free cash flow to purchase share particularly at the moment when share price is low should create a good ROI.
IE of 10% of profits / FCF was used for share buyback the share price would take care of itself eventually.
My target would be 500m shares total (included options once exercised) although this would take several years
STL Price at posting:
2.5¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held