ETB drops most since 2003 listing after failing to find buyer

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)

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