Repsol YPF SA Chairman Antoni Brufau said Tuesday the Spanish oil major has reached an agreement to buy 10% of its own shares from top shareholder Sacyr-Vallehermoso SA, a move that puts an end to a five-year struggle for power in Repsol.
A Repsol spokesman said Mr. Brufau made the remark in Russia, where he signed a deal to create a joint venture with Russian-Kazakh peer Alliance Oil Co. He added that Repsol plans to release more information on the Sacyr agreement later Tuesday.
Trade in Sacyr and Repsol shares was suspended earlier Tuesday, before the market open. Sacyr, a heavily indebted construction company, last traded at €4.03 ($5.24), while Repsol last traded at €22.18.
Sacyr became Repsol's largest shareholder in 2006 when it unexpectedly took a 20% stake in the firm, a move that was supported by Spain's government as a way to have a Spanish institutional shareholder in place to ensure Repsol wouldn't be taken over by larger foreign rivals.
However, Repsol's and Sacyr's management have clashed often since, in particular when the end of Spain's property bubble in 2008 left Sacyr in difficulties to pay back the loan it took to buy the Repsol stake.
Spanish news agency Efe reported Monday that, after months of negotiations, only close to 85% of Sacyr's creditors were willing to renew €4.9 billion worth of debt expiring Wednesday, as Spanish and foreign banks have grown wary of exposure to Spanish construction and real estate firms.
Repsol's market capitalization is around €27.1 billion.
The new joint venture agreement with Russian-Kazakh peer Alliance Oil Co. was signed following months of negotiations. It has $840 million worth of capital and will focus on oil and gas exploration and production in the Russian Federation.
Alliance will have 51% of the joint venture and Repsol will control 49%, Repsol said in a press release.
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