Petersen Pays Repsol in YPF Shares

Repsol has accepted 21.2m YPF shares from Argentina’s Petersen Group in lieu of payment for a loan, it says bringing the Spanish oil company’s stake in YPF up to 12.4% from 6.4%. The Argentine government’s expropriation of a 51% stake in YPF out of Repsol’s 57.4% last month and adjustment of YPF’s dividend policies left the Petersen Group without means to pay back loans it had taken out in 2008 and 2011 to gain its 25.5% stake in YPF. The stake is worth ARP1.71bn ($384m) at Thursday’s ARP81.00 closing price. Repsol has filed a class action with a US court against Argentina’s government relating to the expropriation, as well as stating its intention to take the matter to the World Bank’s International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes.