The arbitral panel has today issued a consent order permitting BP and the Alfa-Access-Renova (AAR) consortium to assign the Arctic opportunity to TNK-BP, subject to Rosneft consent.
The order also permits the proposed share swap between BP and Rosneft to proceed subject to Rosneft having consented to assign the Arctic opportunity to TNK--BP. For the share swap to proceed, both BP and Rosneft would also have to agree that any shares received as a result of the share swap would be held for investment purposes only and placed in trust, with voting rights exercised by independent trustees, together with certain other technical amendments. Neither company would have representatives on the others board in respect of these holdings.
As a result of the consent order, BP can now seek agreement from Rosneft on the assignment of the Arctic opportunity to TNK-BP and modification of the terms of the share swap agreement. Rosneft’s consent will be required for both of these matters to proceed.
The interim injunction on both the share swap and the Arctic opportunity remain in place, subject to obtaining Rosneft’s consents as described above.
