Overview
- Judge Loretta Preska gave Argentina two weeks to transfer its 51 percent YPF stake to Bank of New York Mellon as custodian for plaintiffs in partial satisfaction of a $16.1 billion judgment.
- The case stems from Argentina’s 2012 seizure of YPF assets from Repsol and a 2023 ruling that found the government liable for compensating minority shareholders.
- President Javier Milei promptly vowed to appeal the order in all appropriate courts to defend national interests.
- Shares of YPF fell more than 5 percent on the New York Stock Exchange after the court mandated the transfer.
- The ruling complicates Milei’s plan to leverage YPF’s Vaca Muerta shale output for foreign-currency revenue and advance his privatization reforms.