Azernews.Az

Russia's largest state-owned oil company, Rosneft, has signed a final binding agreement with the AAR consortium to buy its 50 percent stake in Russian-British oil venture TNK-BP, the companies said in a statement on Wednesday, RIA Novosti reported.

"Rosneft signed an agreement today in Munich...to purchase from the AAR Consortium (Alfa Group, Access Industries and Renova) its 50 percent stake in TNK-BP," the companies said.

"The purchase price in the transaction is determined based on the base value of AAR's stake in TNK-BP of $28 billion. Completion of the transaction is subject to approval by Russian and European antimonopoly bodies and is expected to occur in the first half of 2013."

Rosneft announced in October an all-out purchase of TNK-BP, and has secured the Russian government's approval to buy 100 percent of Russia's third-largest crude producer from British oil major BP and AAR, a consortium of Russian billionaire shareholders.

Rosneft signed a similar deal with BP on November 22. Under the deal, BP will receive $17.1 billion in cash for its 50 percent stake, plus 12.84 percent of Rosneft's stock.

"We consider the acquisition of TNK-BP to be strategically attractive for Rosneft shareholders. As a result of this agreement, Rosneft will be able to fully consolidate the acquired business and benefit from a considerable synergy effect," Rosneft President Igor Sechin said.

The agreements reached on Wednesday enable Rosneft to start the integration process immediately, he added.

Renova Group Chairman Viktor Vekselberg said the deal would allow Rosneft to acquire both top-quality oil and gas assets and "unique corporate culture and production experience that have been accumulated during almost a decade of the Russian-British joint venture."

Rosneft's deal for an all-out purchase of TNK-BP will make it the world's largest publicly traded oil company, with higher crude production than global energy titans Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell.