The billionaire partners in TNK-BP
may seek a London listing for their 50 percent stake in Russia’s
third-biggest oil producer should state-run OAO Rosneft trump
them for BP Plc (BP/)’s half.

AAR, the group that represents the billionaires, sent BP a
notice of intention to sell, allowing for an initial public
offering or sale to a third party, according to Chief Executive
Officer Stan Polovets. The partners — Mikhail Fridman, German
Khan, Viktor Vekselberg and Len Blavatnik — have no intention
of selling if their offer wins or BP holds onto its stake, he
said in a phone interview.

AAR is challenging Rosneft, Russia’s biggest oil producer,
for BP’s stake after years of tensions over strategy and
management at TNK-BP. BP said June 1 it would pursue a sale of
its stake, four days after Fridman submitted his resignation as
CEO of the venture, saying the 50-50 relationship had soured.

“The prospect of sharing the asset with Rosneft is less
than ideal for AAR,” Oleg Maximov, Alex Fak and Valery Nesterov, analysts at Sberbank Investment Research in Moscow,
said in a note. “The latest report increases the chances that
the status quo will prevail.”

The TNK partners will need the approval of Russia’s
government to sell shares abroad, Energy Minister Alexander
Novak said today in London. The ministry hasn’t received any
official documents regarding a deal for TNK-BP, he said.

Polovets didn’t specify if AAR may sell all or part of its
stake or any timing.

Deal Collapsed

The fractious relationship had eased after a 2008 battle
over strategy and management that led to the ouster of now BP
CEO Bob Dudley as head of TNK-BP.

Tensions flared again last year as BP sought to swap $7.8
billion of shares with Rosneft and form an Arctic exploration
alliance. The deal collapsed after a legal challenge from its
TNK partners, who said the deal violated a shareholder
agreement. AAR rejected a $32 billion offer at the time for its
stake from BP and Rosneft.

AAR’s notice may be a delay tactic and could trigger a
second 135-day period of negotiation between BP and AAR, the
Sberbank analysts said. After BP’s June 1 announcement, AAR had
45 days to decide on making a bid and 90 days in which the
shareholders must negotiate in good faith, making a deal with an
outside party more difficult. The period ends on Oct. 17, and
talks may continue beyond then. BP is asking for formal bids
from Rosneft and AAR by the end of that period, a person with
knowledge of the matter said Sept. 25.

Bank Funding

As the deadline nears, the AAR partners “continue to work
on an offer for BP’s shareholding in TNK-BP,” Polovets said in
an e-mailed statement.

AAR is seeking to raise as much as $20 billion, in part to
help fund a planned all-cash offer. Rosneft is looking for about
$15 billion from banks, people with knowledge of the plan said
last month. BP’s Dudley said in July that investors should be
open to a combination of shares and cash.

The shares of OAO TNK-BP Holding (TNBP), the listed unit that
holds most of the venture’s Russian production and refining
assets, fell 1.2 percent to 81.40 rubles in Moscow, heading for
the lowest since Aug. 21 and cutting its value to $39 billion.

BP received the notice from AAR, Toby Odone, a company
spokesman in London, said by e-mail.

“We can confirm that we are committed to continue the
sales process for our 50 percent share in TNK-BP as we announced
on June 1,” Odone said.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Torrey Clark in Moscow at
tclark8@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Will Kennedy at
wkennedy3@bloomberg.net