Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Bogota SA, the state phone company serving Colombia’s capital, tumbled the most since its 2003 listing after failing to find a buyer for a stake in the company, according to a statement posted on the website of the nation’s securities regulator.
ETB, as the company is known, dropped 26 percent to 805 pesos at 1:03 p.m. New York time. The stock fell to its lowest intraday level since April 2009.
The phone service provider was unable to lure bidders for a proposed auction in which it sought to find a strategic investor, according to a statement it posted on the website of the nation’s securities regulator. Investors were caught off- guard because they had been betting that the company would find a buyer, said Jose Fernando Restrepo, head of research at Interbolsa SA, the country’s biggest brokerage.
“The bubble burst,” said Restrepo. “All these expectations went to zero.” (Ben Bain / Bloomberg)
