British oil giant BP said on Friday it had not yet agreed on a sale of its 50 percent stake in the TNK-BP joint venture, after entering into discussions with its AAR partners in the company.
"At the request of the UK Listing Authority, BP confirms that the 90 day period as set out in the TNK-BP shareholder agreement has concluded," BP said in a statement. "If and when BP reaches any agreement, it will make an announcement at the appropriate time."
The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing sources, that BP was close to a deal to sell its 50 percent stake in TNK-BP to Russian state oil giant Rosneft for about $25 billion in cash and shares.
On the same day, Sky News reported the Russian oligarchs in AAR had reached preliminary agreement on a deal to sell their stake to Rosneft for about $28 billion.
If Rosneft succeeds in purchasing half of TNK-BP, it would make it one of the world's top ten oil companies, and if it bought the whole company it would make it one of the five biggest.
BP announced in June that it would sell its half of TNK-BP, after years of troubled relations between BP and the Russian shareholders. In late May, one of them, CEO Mikhail Fridman announced he would resign, saying the firm's management had become "paralyzed" by differences over future strategy.
