BP Eyes Stake Sale As Spill Spreads to Texas
"We don't think a strategic partner is at all necessary," said one top-10 BP shareholder who did not want to be named. "We think this is just people trying to panic the company and stampede into doing something to earn huge fees from selling new shares in BP. Shareholders will be saying 'No, thank you' to this and we have communicated this to the company." Another top-10 investor agreed that BP "probably did not" need a strategic investor at the moment. Britain's Sunday Times said BP's advisers were trying to drum up interest among rival oil groups and sovereign wealth funds to take a stake of between 5 and 10 percent in the company at a cost of up to 6 billion pounds ($9.1 billion). BP declined to comment. One former investment director at a Dubai-based state investment company said it was a predictable move for BP but he doubted the company would find a taker among the oil rich sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) of the Middle East. A London banker said any SWF involvement might more likely involve the Far East than the Middle East. Separately, several newspapers reported interest among SWFs in buying some of BP's assets in the Middle East and Asia. BP has said it hopes to raise $10 billion from asset sales this year as part of its plan to fund a $20 billion clean-up fund set up under pressure from U.S. authorities. Arabic language daily al-Jarida was most specific, saying state-run Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Co (KUFPEC) is reviewing investing in oil fields in Egypt, Yemen and east Asia. BP shares have lost more than half their market value since the spill was unleashed on April 20, the result of an explosion on a drilling rig that caused a well to rupture.
