Shares of ABS-CBN Corp. surged by 17 percent on Monday, amid a Senate hearing on the broadcast company’s franchise which is set to expire in the coming months.
The company’s shares jumped to P23.00 apiece, up by P3.34 or 16.99 percent from last Friday’s finish of P19.66 per share.
In the process, the company gained P2.878 billion in market capitalization to close Monday at P19.825 billion from P16.946 billion on Friday.
“I guess the price went up as investors became optimistic over the renewal of the franchise while the Senate hearing took place today,” Jervin de Celis, trader at Timson Securities Inc., said Monday.
“The hearings in Congress gives a chance for speculation; either their franchise gets renewed or not, expect volatility on this name,” Carlo Capacillo, senior dealer at AP Securities Inc., said in a separate text message.
The Senate public services committee on Monday started its hearing on the bill regarding the franchise of ABS-CBN Corp., set to expire on March 30. Justice secretary Menardo Guevarra would clarify this during Thursday’s Senate hearing, saying the franchise would expire in May.
Earlier this month, the Office of the Solicitor General, led by Jose Calida, filed a quo warranto petition against the broadcast network and asked the Supreme Court to drop the franchise of ABS-CBN Corp. and its subsidiary ABS-CBN Convergence Inc. (GMA News)
