BP ready sell stake in TNK-BP to AAR

British Petroleum has received “unsolicited indications of interest regarding the potential acquisition of its shareholding in TNK-BP” and ready to sell its stake to the Russian co-owners of TNK-BP.

“…consistent with its commitment to maximizing shareholder value, and its obligations under the Shareholder Agreement, BP has notified Alfa Access Renova of its intention to pursue a potential sale,” BP said in a statement.TNK-BP is a leading Russian oil company, owned equally by BP and Alfa Access Renova (AAR). The company was formed in 2003 as the result of the merger of BP’s Russian oil and gas assets and the oil and gas assets of AAR.AAR has been battling the British company for control of the lucrative venture for years.BP’s decision to pursue with the sale of its stake to its Russian partners comes after the head of AAR, Stan Polovets, told RT in an exclusive interview that AAR is ready to buy BP's stake in TNK-BP.  “As an alternative variant, we are ready to exchange our stake in TNK-BP for BP shares so AAR would become BP's shareholder," he added.BP and the Russian partners in the AAR consortium have been locked in a long-running dispute over management of their Russian joint venture, which included the replacement of the former TNK-BP CEO Robert Dudley in 2008. That conflict, waged over three months and ended with Dudley resigning and leaving Russia, was followed by another divide over whether BP was entitled to participate in a joint venture with Russia’s