The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is gearing up for another day in the record books this Wednesday. The index is currently up a healthy 0.56% at 8,819.4 points at the time of writing after reaching as high as 8,824 points earlier this morning. But let's talk about what's going on with shares of TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPG).
Before today, the ASX 200 had never crossed the 8,800-point threshold, so the index is once again at a new record high this session.
But TPG shares are missing out. Well, sort of. The telco did begin trading this morning, initially plunging a nasty 4.27% before the shares were placed in a trading halt.
Unfortunately, this was the result of a major snafu by the ASX itself.
First, the ASX announced, at 9:47 am, that TPG shares were accidentally placed into a "60 minute timer" at 9:20 am this morning. The ASX advised that "this was an internal error, please disregard".
Following this, another announcement, supposedly regarding TPG, was released by the ASX.
An ASX case of mistaken identity
This involved vehicle software company Infomedia Ltd (ASX: IFM). As we covered this morning, Infomedia has just announced that it has entered into a scheme, which will result in a subsidiary of TPG Capital Asia acquiring the company in full. If Infomedia investors agree to the terms, they will receive $1.72 per share in cash, valuing the company at a 30% premium to its recent pricing.
That's all well and good. However, the ASX mistakenly associated this news with TPG Telecom shares, which are unrelated to TPG Capital Asia. In fact, TPG Capital Asia is not even listed on the ASX, nor on any other stock market.
As such, the trading halt for TPG Telecom shares never should have taken place. Nor, investors might argue, that brief but sharp share price drop this morning.
In a subsequent release, the ASX stated the following to explain its error:
The announcement made by Infomedia Ltd (IFM) this morning about entering into a scheme implementation agreement with McQueen BidCo Pty Ltd an entity ultimately owned by funds managed or advised by TPG Capital Asia (who is not listed on ASX) was erroneously cross-released by ASX against TPG Telecom Limited ('TPG').
That announcement is unrelated to TPG Telecom Limited and is in the process of being deleted by ASX. Trades that have occurred in TPG today prior to the Pause in Trading at 10:15:18 am will be cancelled. TPG will remain in a Pause while the cancellation is processed. A further announcement will be released advising of the time that the trading Pause will be lifted.
Oh dear.
As of the time of writing, TPG shares remain in a trading halt while the ASX presumably does its best to correct this error. But it is an embarrassing moment for the stock market operator, no doubt about it.
TPG share price snapshot
Despite today's hefty drop, TPG shares have been performing remarkably well in recent times. At the current halted share price of $5.26, the telco is up an encouraging 16.23% year to date, as well as up 17.26% over the past 12 months.
At the current price, TPG shares are trading on a trailing dividend yield of 3.42%.
