Trading of ABS-CBN shares suspended

MANILA, Philippines — Trading of shares of publicly-listed ABS-CBN Corp. and ABS-CBN Holdings Corp. were suspended yesterday after the broadcast giant was ordered to shut down.

ABS-CBN went off the air Tuesday night in compliance with a cease and desist order issued by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) following the expiration of the network’s franchise on Monday.

“In view of the foregoing cease and desist order issued by the NTC that prohibits the company from continuing its broadcast operations, and pursuant to existing rules, applicable laws and regulations in order to maintain a fair, efficient and orderly trading market, the PSE will implement a trading suspension on ABS’ shares and the Philippine Deposit Receipts issued by ABS-CBN Holdings Corporation effective at 9 am today, May 6, 2020,” the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) said.

The PSE required the ABS-CBN to submit a full disclosure on the impact of the cease and desist order on its business, financial condition, operations, and prospects of the company as well as its business continuity plan, risk mitigation measures, and such other material information for the investing public.

It said the trading suspension will be lifted one trading day after dissemination of the full disclosure to the investing public.

Shares of ABS-CBN Corp. and ABS-CBN Holdings closed at P17.50 and P15.42, respectively, on Tuesday, before news broke that the NTC issued a cease and desist order against the company.

Meanwhile, shares of rival GMA Network Inc. surged by 23.69 percent yesterday, closing at P5.90.

“Speculation and volatile movement for GMA’s stock price was definitely expected after yesterday’s development,” Regina Capital’s Luis Limlingan said, referring to ABS-CBN’s shutdown on Tuesday.

ABS-CBN president and CEO Carlo Katigbak, in a message before the network went off the air on Tuesday, said the company has met all the requirements for its franchise renewal and assured that it did not violate any law.

In a social media post after the network went off the air, but has been deleted as of press time, ABS-CBN TV host Bianca Gonzalez said the network’s bosses assured employees in a live chat that no one would lose their jobs due to retrenchment for the next three months, with benefits to remain active.

ABS-CBN has more than 11,000 employees.