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Russia’s Holders of TNK-BP Eager to Sell
Russia’s holders of TNK-BP have publicly confirmed readiness to dispose of their 50 percent in the company. The proposal of AAR consortium was to swap the stake for some portion in BP. But no agreement was attained and the clashes developed into a corporate war, where the courts are the battlefield.
The term given to Russia’s holders to talk over the clashes with Britain’s partners expired June 11. The deadline was set June 6, when BP CEO Tony Hayward met with Mikhail Fridman, who chairs the BOD at TNK-BP Ltd. The latter is 50/50 owned by BP and AAR Consortium of Mikhail Fridman’s Alfa Group, Leonard Blavatnik’s Access and Viktor Vekselberg’s Renova.
Viktor Vekselberg said the matters at stake were managing TNK-BP’s subsidiaries, reviving his authority and the authority of TNK-BP’s Executive Director German Khan and sorting out the clashes around nonresidents’ employment.
The letter that Blavatnik addressed to Tony Hayward June 3 also suggests entering into an agreement, whereby AAR would have a non-biding option to convert its stocks of TNK-BP into the stocks of BP PLC. The terms of this agreement, including the exchange ratio were to be discussed later.
According to Vekselberg, BP rejected the proposal and the parties are no longer in talks about the sale of the stake. No meetings have been arranged to sort out the clashes. Instead, AAR intends to sue Britain’s holders in different courts.
The analysts say the Russians will finally sell their stake and end the conflict. But before it, they will endeavor to strengthen the standing in the company, where key offices are held by nonresidents. A stake in the company with the actual pari passu management will cost more, the analysts explain. Another opinion is that BP will finally have to resell the stake, yielding 51 percent in TNK-BP to Gazprom.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of June 16, 2008
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