Akin Gump and Weil win roles as AAR apes BP with TNK-BP stake sale

The deal, which has yet to close, comes as BP has agreed to sell its 50 per cent stake in TNK-BP to Rosneft for $17.1bn in cash and a 12.84 per cent stake in Rosneft (22 October 2012). BP is also planning to acquire an an extra 5.66 per cent stake in Rosneft, but this is pending approval from the Russian government.

Weil has taken a first-time lead role as the primary adviser to the AAR consortium with a team led by London-based private equity partner Marco Compagnoni, corporate partner Peter King and associate Simon Lyell.

Skadden, which is acting for AAR in relation to the parallel BP sale, is also advising the consortium on various other aspects, including competition issues. The same team that is working on the separate BP sale is also involved, led by London M&A partners Michal Berkner and co-head of the firm’s global transactions practice group Scott Simpson and Moscow-based M&A partners Linda Davies and Dmitri Kovalenko.

Akin Gump is acting in a special advisory role for corporate and other related matters on behalf of the Renova part of the consortium.

The same core Cleary team that acted for Rosneft on the BP sale is also advising it on this transaction, consisting of M&A partner Russell Pollack in Paris and London corporate finance partner Daniel Braverman.

Background to this deal:

The deal is understood to be the first time that Weil has acted for AAR. Skadden, meanwhile, is a longstanding adviser to AAR, having advised the Russian consortium as it battled it out in the courts with BP last year as a heated dispute escalated between BP and the Russian investors in TNK-BP (12 May 2011). Linklaters acted for BP.

Akin Gump has represented Renova on several recent international arbitration proceedings related to TNK-BP.