BP extends share swap deadline as joint venture talks stutter

BP has extended the deadline for completing a share swap deal with Russian oil giant Rosneft until 16 May, as reports suggest talks with AAR about the British oil firm buying out its Russian partner in joint venture TNK-BP have "more or less collapsed".

The Russian billionaire shareholders of TNK-BP have argued the Rosneft tie-up breaks promises BP made to them. In a bid to placate AAR, BP offered to purchase its 50% holding in TNK-BP. However the BBC says "a BP source said AAR put an impossibly high valuation on TNK-BP of around $70bn, which would value the oligarchs' stake at more than $35bn". The news service reports BP was prepared, jointly with Rosneft, to pay something over $25bn for their stake, on the basis that TNK-BP is worth more than $50bn. BP itself says this morning that it intends to continue with the arbitration...