There's a few different valuations. There's how investors value it, which can be different between investors. There's also a 409a valuation, which is what the government deems it to be "actually worth".

But since the OP hasn't vested, the number that matters here is the strike price at the time the OP got their shares, which is likely ~$100. At some point the OP wrote the company a check for $49 (or so) to "legally buy" their shares (49%). But they haven't vested, so these shares are in a sort of "limbo".

So, the company can't just take them back, since it would be stealing $49. The OP also hasn't earned the shares, per the vesting contract.

This means the company has to pay back the $49 if they're going to take the shares back. It might seem silly to be talking about so little money, but that's all the OP means (even if they don't realize it) when they say the company has the right to buy back the shares.