BP faces US shareholder revolt at AGM
CALPERS the biggest US public pension fund, and its Florida equivalent have said they will vote against management ahead of BP’s annual general meeting tomorrow, over anger at the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
Calpers and the Florida State Board of Administration, which between them own almost 83m shares, or 0.4 per cent of BP’s shares, said they will oppose the approval of the company’s annual report and against the re-election of Bill Castell, non-executive director and head of the safety, ethics and environment assurance committee.
The shareholder rebellion comes as BP tries to secure a last-minute deal with Rosneft. Sources close to TNK-BP yesterday confirmed that executives at the Russian venture are looking to sue BP management over their planned £10bn deal with oil giant Rosneft. Bosses at TNK-BP are hoping to enforce the firm’s alleged rights as BP’s preferred partner in the country, on top of a separate lawsuit being fought by investor AAR.
TNK-BP is also preparing to sue BP chief executive Bob Dudley, who it argues helped the directors.
AAR, the vehicle used by the Russian oligarchs who jointly run TNK-BP, started a separate lawsuit back in January to block BP’s £10bn share swap and exploration deal and currently has an interim injunction halting further progress. BP has until tomorrow to secure an extension to its share swap and exploration plans with Rosneft before the original deal expires.