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The Colombian court considering the case between Colombia's state-controlled telecommunication company, Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Bogota SA (ETB.BO), and a workers union will rule on ETB's appeal within two weeks, a company official said Tuesday.

"Our appeal was in the judge's office on Monday and we expect an answer within the next two weeks," Andres Perez, ETB's general secretary, said Tuesday.

On Sept. 22, a court ordered ETB, which is controlled by the Bogota city council, to halt its attempt to seek a controlling partner on the request of the labor union, which fears massive layoffs if a private operator takes the company over.

Perez said he is confident the ruling will be favorable to the company.

ETB's share price plummeted after the company revealed the lawsuit on Sept. 16, and it fell more when the court released the order. ETB's shares lost 22% between then and Tuesday.

ETB shares rose 0.9% on Tuesday to end at 994 Colombian pesos ($0.52).

ETB plans to sell new shares, equivalent to a 36.6% stake, to a new partner to be selected in a public auction.

The city council then plans to convert its current shares into non-voting shares. The new partner must commit to holding a tender offer to buy out minority shareholders at the same price as offered in December. If all minority shareholders accept the offer, the partner will end up with a stake close to 49%, but with a majority of voting shares.

ETB's share price has climbed over the past few months on expectations the new partner would pay a significant premium to gain control of ETB. Between July 6 - when the company announced its search for a partner - and mid-September, ETB's shares had gained 41%.

The Bogota city council now holds 86.59% of ETB, while minority shareholders have the remaining, according to the company's Web site.

-By Inti Landauro, Dow Jones Newswires; 57-1-610 70 44 Ext. 1131; colombia@dowjones.com