Tablemac Tumbles After Being Dropped From Colcap

Tablemac SA (TABLEMA), a Colombian maker of wood floors and furniture, fell the most since November after the stock exchange said the company would be dropped from the benchmark Colcap index at the end of the month.

Tablemac, based in Medellin, tumbled 5.5 percent to 7.7 pesos at 11:35 a.m. in Bogota trading. It was the biggest decline on an intraday basis since Nov. 7. The Colcap, which includes about 20 stocks, fell 0.1 percent.

Tablemac will leave the index effective Feb. 1 as part of a quarterly rebalancing along with packager Carvajal Empaques SA and phone company Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Bogota SA, the exchange said in a statement late yesterday. The exchange, which says membership in the Colcap (COLCAP) is determined by “adjusted market capitalization,” didn’t provide specific reasons for the changes.

Tablemac shares plunged earlier this month after brokerage Bolsa y Renta SA said the stock was likely to be dropped, then rebounded after Bancolombia SA (BCOLO) said it would probably stay in.

Helm Bank SA (PFBHELMB), utility Empresa de Energia de Bogota SA and cement maker Cemex Latam Holdings SA (CLH) will join the Colcap, the exchange said. While Helm Bank agreed in October to be acquired by Chile’s Corpbanca SA, the transaction hasn’t closed.

Bancolombia had predicted that Helm Bank would be kept out.

“The market wasn’t sure if the stock exchange would consider Helm eligible for the index,” said Mauricio Hernandez, an analyst at Corredores Asociados SA.

Bogota-based ETB fell 1 percent to 388 pesos today while Carvajal was unchanged. Cemex Latam gained 0.3 percent, EEB fell 1.1 percent and Helm rose 0.2 percent.

Tablemac President Juan Fernando Vasquez didn’t immediately respond to a phone call and e-mail seeking comment.

To contact the reporter on this story: Christine Jenkins in Bogota at cjenkins28@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: David Papadopoulos at papadopoulos@bloomberg.net