TNK-BP to review info on BP-Rosneft deal on Fri, final decision to be present on Feb 25 - sources
MOSCOW. Feb 17 (Interfax) - TNK-BP's board of directors will convene on February 18 in order to review information on BP and Rosneft's partnership, as well as review the necessity of paying dividends for the fourth quarter of 2010. However, a final decision will likely not be made at this meeting.
A final resolution on these issues will be produced by the board at an extraordinary meeting slated for February 25, several informed sources told Interfax.
One source said that TNK-BP's management will present the board its preliminary conclusions on BP and Rosneft's plans to form a strategic alliance and TNK-BP's possible interest in it. A final decision will not be made on February 18 since official information on the transaction from BP was only presented to TNK-BP this past week. The information currently requires detailed analysis.
The sources expressed their doubts that TNK-BP's three independent directors will be able to formulate a unified position on this issue since they too only received information on the transaction very recently. Each independent director could have their own view on the situation. Therefore, a unified position on their part is not guaranteed.
The company's board will also vote on paying $780 million in dividends for the fourth quarter of 2010 on February. This amount equals 40% of the company's net profit for the period. No discussions will be held regarding $1 billion in additional dividends. The dividend issue will also be discussed at the February 25 meeting.
