President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner will formally sign the law declaring the expropriation of 51% of YPF at 6 pm tonight at Casa Rosada.
After many long weeks of deliberation, the bill to nationalise YPF Oil has been passed in the Chamber of Deputies. The Bill gained almost unanimous support, with 207 in favour to only 32 votes against.
The nationalisation represents the latest in a string of such moves, which many suggest may scare away international investment in Argentina.
Repsol has requested US$ 9.3 billion for the shares but it is still unknown whether Argentina will meet this number.
The current breakdown of ownership now stands at 26.03% of shares owned by the federal government, 25.46% by the Group Petersen (owned by the Argentine Ezkenazi family), 24.99% by the oil-producing provinces and 6.43% by Repsol, and the remaining 17.09% listed on the stock exchange.
At the moment there is no suggestion as to who will be leading the company, as the bill states it will have professional management. There is speculation that Michael Galuccio, an engineer who now works for Schlumberger, but others point to oil expert Marcelo Guiscard.
The signing ceremony will be at 6 pm in the Women’s Hall of Casa Rosada. Governors, legislators, and businessmen will be in attendance.
