Anything can happen in the real world.
If there is not a step transaction, but rather a real "sale" of his stock to the corporation, it's a sale. That assumes there is NO connection between the steps, e.g., no pre-planned or pre-obliged further step, and NO relationship between or among the parties. It's a redemption, with whatever tax effects result from that. Then the sale by the corp. to another person is treated (at least under U.S.law) as an issuance by the corp., again taxed (or not) based on the country's law.
But if the above described "facts" are absent, i.e., there is a plan or obligation that ties the steps together, and/or there are other connections/relationships, all bets are off and we'd need more facts.
There is theoretically the possibility of a tax to all parties.