Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Bogotá S.A. E.S.P. (ETB) postponed the process of seeking a controlling partner. This sent its share price down by 6.1%. ETB said that it will hold a public auction to pick a controlling partner on December 21 instead of October 7. The company did not say why it decided to delay the auction, and Chief Executive of the firm, Fernando Panesso did not return phone calls seeking comment.

Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Bogotá S.A. E.S.P. reported earnings results for the first half of 2009. For the period, the company reported a net profit of COP 274 billion ($134 million), surging 299% compared to COP 61.2 billion in the same period of 2008. Operating profits slipped 2% year-over-year to COP 698 billion, while income from internet services rose 37.9% to COP 212 billion. Revenues from local telephony and long distance were down to COP 351 billion and COP 93 billion respectively.

Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Bogotá S.A. (ETB) told the financial regulators that the company has started the process to search for a strategic partner to provide capital. The company will select a partner to infuse fresh capital in return for a majority stake in the company sometime around October 16. The company will sell new shares, which will be equal to a 36.6% stake, to the new partner, who will be selected during a public auction. Juan Carlos Alvarez, an investment banker with Santander SA, which is handling the auction, said that the winner will be the one that offers the highest price per share. The minimum price will remain secret until the auction. The city council, which currently controls the company, will change its current shares into non-voting shares so that the new partner will control the company, Alvarez said. "Unless the bidder decides to submit an offer without operating management and becomes a capitalist partner," he added. At the same time, ETB will sell additional shares to current minority holders at the same price to avoid dilution of their stakes. The new partner will have to acquire the shares the minority holders do not already own. The partner will also commit to holding a tender offer to acquire minority shareholders' stakes at the same price as offered in October. In the case all minority shareholders decide to leave the company, the partner would end up with a stake close to 49%, with a majority of voting shares, ETB said in a filing to the market regulator. To qualify as a bidder, the new partner must already operate at least 1.5 million fixed lines or 5 million mobile lines and at least 100,000 Internet connections. The future partner also must have booked at least $1 billion in total revenues in the last fiscal period. Additionally, the labor union of ETB remains very influential. "We will oppose privatization. What the company needs is not a strategic partner, but good management," Carlos Velasquez, an ETB union leader, said on July 8. ETB is owned by the Bogota city council, which has a 88.4% stake in the company, while minority shareholders have the remaining 11.6%, according to the company's Web site.