Rosneft closes $55bn TNK-BP deal Russian oil company Rosneft announced on Thursday it had closed the $55bn deal to acquire TNK-BP, making it the world's largest publicly traded oil producer. In a statement, Rosneft said it had finalised a deal to acquire the 50 per cent share of TNK-BP owned by AAR, a consortium of Soviet-born oligarchs led by Mikhail Fridman, for $27.73bn in cash. It had also acquired the other half of TNK-BP owned by UK energy group BP, in exchange for $16.65bn in cash and 12.84 per cent of Rosneft shares. Separately, BP acquired 5.66 per cent of Rosneft shares held in Rosneftegaz, a state investment vehicle, for $4.87bn. Together with its existing 1.25 per cent stake in the company, it now holds 19.75 per cent of Rosneft. The deal leaves BP with $12.48bn in cash, including a $710m dividend received from TNK-BP in December. Its chief executive, Bob Dudley, will become a member of the Rosneft board. The Rosneft takeover brings the curtain down on a 10-year old company that proved fantastically lucrative for its owners. Since the initial $8bn investment in 2003, BP has received $19bn in dividends from the joint venture, which came to account for a quarter of the UK group's production and a fifth of its reserves. But TNK-BP was plagued by disputes between BP and its partners AAR. One particularly bitter conflict in 2008 led to the departure from Russia of Mr Dudley, who was at the time TNK-BP's chief executive, after what he described as a campaign of harassment. Mr Dudley said the closure of the TNK-BP takeover was a "historic day for BP in Russia." He said the deal "gives us a wonderful opportunity to forge a new partnership with a great Russian oil company." Igor Sechin, Rosneft's chief executive, said: "We welcome BP as a strategic investor in Rosneft and look forward to their involvement in forming the future strategic direction of the company."