Zürcher Nachrichten - US judge orders Argentina to sell 51% stake in oil firm YPF

Argentine President Javier Milei, who is on a campaign to stabilize his country's struggling economy, promptly vowed to appeal.

The case revolves around the 2012 renationalization of YPF from the control of Spanish giant Repsol.

Two minority shareholders, Petersen Energia and Eton Park Capital, filed suit in 2015 seeking damages for allegedly not receiving proper compensation in the sale.

US District Judge Loretta Preska ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, and in September 2023 ordered Argentina to pay over $16 billion to the firms.

To partially satisfy the outstanding sum, Preska on Monday ordered Argentina to transfer its 51 percent stake of YPF to an intermediary, with instructions that the shares then be handed over to the plaintiffs.

"We will appeal this decision in all appropriate courts to defend national interests," Milei posted on X shortly after the judgment was published.

He pointed the finger at Axel Kicillof, who was the South American country's economy minister in 2012 under then-president Cristina Kirchner and considered a potential 2027 presidential candidate.

YPF, a century-old and iconic Argentine company with more than 22,000 employees, was privatized in the 1990s and gradually came under the control of Repsol.

It was renationalized in 2012 under Kirchner, which at the time raised questions about the security of investments in South America's third-largest economy.

In 2014, after months of dispute, Repsol reached an agreement with Argentina for compensation of around $5 billion.

The Petersen Group and Eton Park Capital -- which together held 25.4 percent of YPF's capital -- filed suit in 2015, alleging that the country had not submitted a takeover bid as provided by law.

Preska has ordered Argentina to pay $7.5 billion in damages and $6.85 billion in interest to Petersen Energia.

She also ordered Argentina to pay about $1.7 billion, between damages and interest, to Eton Park Capital.

N.Zaugg--NZN