Burford Capital Ltd on Monday called a US appeals court decision that overturned a USD16 billion judgement against Argentina for nationalising the oil company YPF in 2012 "very disappointing" and an "abandonment of minority shareholder rights".
London- and New York-based Burford, which was funding the case, said it will need to take a partial non-cash write-down of its YPF litigation assets as a result. It said the size of the write down is still to be decided, but the "substantial" carrying value of the YPF case in its balance share means the write-down may restrict its ability to issue new debt and make new investments.
More positively on Monday, Burford said the plaintiffs are likely to start investment treaty arbitration against Argentina, and the South American country "has lost many such investment arbitrations in the past, including a substantial claim funded by Burford that yielded a highly successful result".
Burford said the plaintiffs also may seek a rehearing by the entire Second Circuit court, but it said the US court "rarely grants such requests". The ruling was a big victory for President Javier Milei as he tries to boost Argentina's troubled economy, AFP reported on Friday.
"We won the YPF trial," Milei wrote in capital letters on the social media platform X, calling the 2-1 ruling by the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in New York the "best possible outcome."
The court struck down a 2023 ruling from Judge Loretta Preska of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York that ordered Argentina to pay USD16.1 billion to minority shareholder companies she said were harmed by the nationalisation of YPF.
Full story UPDATE: US appeals court overturns YPF judgement against Argentina
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