TNK-BP may join lawsuit for damages against BP
BP’S RUSSIAN joint venture TNK-BP said it may join a $13bn (£8.2bn) lawsuit brought by a minority shareholder over the oil major’s failed alliance with state-controlled Rosneft.
TNK-BP Holding, the main subsidiary of TNK-BP, said it would “consider the question of whether or not to join the lawsuit being put forward by one of its minority shareholders” at a board meeting being held on 24 October.
However, it is unclear whether the motion will go-ahead because it would require the approval of at least eight out of the nine directors on TNK-BP Holding’s board to vote in its favour, a spokesman for BP said.
BP and AAR, the consortium of four Russian billionaire partners. each have four seats on the board of TNK-BP Holding. The sole independent director is David Lasfargue.
Minority shareholder Andrei Prokhorov has filed two lawsuits for $2.8bn and $13bn against the oil major over alleged loss following BP’s failed deal with Rosneft.
It was unclear yesterday which suit the board of TNK-BP Holding have been asked to consider joining, however BP has rejected both as “absurd and groundless”.