TNK-BP oligarchs eye stake in BP in return for exit from joint venture BP and Rosneft together offered to buy out AAR for about $32bn (£20bn) cash and shares, which would have given the oligarchs about a 6pc stake in BP. Rosneft would effectively have replaced AAR in TNK-BP, thereby meeting Russian regulations preventing more than 50pc foreign ownership. BP believes the oligarchs regret frustrating the deal and may wish to resurrect it. However, last year's offer was an attempt by BP to salvage its Arctic exploration tie-up with Rosneft, which AAR had blocked. The prize for BP of access to those Arctic fields has since been taken by Exxon Mobil. It is not clear whether Rosneft would still be interested in buying out AAR. Igor Sechin, the Russian energy tsar who brokered last year's Arctic tie-up and fell from grace when it collapsed, was last week put back in charge of Rosneft, sparking speculation it could expand its asset base and take another look at TNK-BP. But Mr Fridman rejected suggestions that he had resigned as TNK-BP chief executive in anticipation of Sechin making a move on AAR's stake, dismissing the idea of a Rosneft-TNK-BP merger as "fantasy." Meanwhile, BP faced warnings from London analysts that its management needed to "up its game." Stuart Joyner of Investec wrote: "We detect increasing frustration among investors at the pace of structural change within BP where management decisions seem reactive and slow." He retained a "buy" rating on BP, noting potential upside if it were to resolve lawsuits over the Macondo well disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, but added: "Frankly, BP shares now suffer a management as well as a Macondo discount." A spokesman for BP said it had set out "very clear targets and milestones for the next few years."