The judge of the Second Southern District of Manhattan (United States), Loretta Preska, ruled yesterday against the Argentine State in the trial being processed in the United States for the expropriation of the YPF oil company, carried out in 2012, and exempted from responsibilities to the company. The ruling favors the Burford Capital and Eton Park funds, which at the time bought minority shareholders the right to litigate against Argentina and YPF, explained sources familiar with the details of the litigation, who anticipated that the measure will be appealed.
The magistrate held the Argentine State responsible for moving forward with the decision to expropriate 51% of the shares of the oil company without having made a public offer to the holders of the other shares that would be affected by that decision.
The position of the Argentine State was supported by public law and pointed out that an expropriation, with a law of the National Congress, is above the statutes of the company, therefore such a public offer should not be made to the rest of the shareholders.
In her ruling, the judge cited YPF’s 1993 bylaws and later concluded that “the Republic promised security holders that it would offer them a way out if it regained control over the required number of shares” and that this promise “did not it was fulfilled”.
The value of the compensation that the Argentine State must pay, if it fails to reverse the ruling, will be determined in the progress of the trial when the calculations are made that allow arriving at an amount, explained the sources consulted, who clarified that for now the magistrate Preska only determined responsibilities.
The case was initiated by the Burford fund after buying the rights to litigate in the Spanish Justice, within the framework of the bankruptcy process of the companies Petersen Energía and Petersen investora.
