Rosneft may offer to buy out, or convert, TNK-BP shares

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian state oil major Rosneft said on Thursday it may offer to buy out minority shareholders in TNK-BP Holding or convert their stock into its own shares, but only at a lower valuation than at which it took over TNK-BP.

"We don't have any obligations. It would be a voluntary offer or, if a decision on a reorganization is taken, a conversion. We will see," Rosneft Vice President Igor Maidannik told reporters.

Maidannik, speaking after TNK-BP Holding's annual shareholders meeting, said he preferred the idea of a share swap, because buyouts "usually don't lead to the desired result".

His comments offered a glimmer of hope that minority shareholders who own about 5 percent of TNK-BP Holding, the listed unit of the Anglo-Russian venture bought by Rosneft for $55 billion, will not end up empty-handed.

Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin, a long-time ally of President Vladimir Putin, had previously rebuffed calls for a buyout or special dividend. Since the deal's announcement last October, TNK-BP Holding's shares have lost 57 percent of their value.

Maidannik, Rosneft's legal counsel, played down expectations that shareholders - which include several leading global emerging markets equity funds - could expect a big payout. TNK-BP shares rose by 3.75 percent Moscow trading.

"It has been obvious since the deal was announced that TNK-BP's capitalization would fall," said Maidannik. "Someone might have dreamed that a buyout could happen at the deal's price, but in my opinion that was a gamble."

(Reporting by Katya Golubkova; Writing by Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Douglas Busvine)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rosneft-may-offer-buy-convert-tnk-bp-shares-104546222.html

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