Moscow Times 4 June 2012
BP has agreed to consider quitting its Russian joint venture in a move that could strip the British company of almost a third of its output and reverse the biggest investment in the Russian oil industry.
If BP sells its 50 percent share in TNK-BP, the deal could hand control in the venture to its four Soviet-born billionaire partners.
TNK-BP could also take on a new shareholder, possibly a government-controlled company like Rosneft.
In a curt statement Friday, BP said it intended to “pursue a potential sale” of its 50 percent stake in TNK-BP in response to “unsolicited approaches.”
“There can be no guarantee that any transaction will take place,” the statement warned.
BP’s announcement came after TNK-BP co-owner Mikhail Fridman said one of the 50-50 partners — who had often feuded over management and strategy — needed to cede control to the other.
BP refused to identify the suitors, but the announcement gives the billionaires the right to require that the British company first negotiate with them, said a source familiar with the situation.