Argentina ordered to pay at least $8.4B in YPF suit with claims owned by Burford

Argentina was ordered to pay at least $8.4B in damages in a U.S. lawsuit over its 2012 re-nationalization of state oil company YPF SA (YPF) in an order issued by U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The judge awarded the amount to entities backed by litigation funder Burford Capital (BUR), which acquired the right to pursue the claims for $16.6M in 2015. The decision states in addition: “The Court also rejects the Republic’s effort to inject Burford Capital into these proceedings. This remains a case brought by plaintiffs against a defendant for its wrongful conduct towards them, and the relevant question is what the Republic owes Plaintiffs to compensate them for the loss of the use of their money, not what Plaintiffs have done or will do with what they are owed. The Republic owes no more or less because of Burford Capital’s involvement.” “Argentina has already pledged to appeal, which will likely delay payment for months or even years, but could also complicate its efforts to return to global debt markets,” according to Bloomberg’s reporting on the decision that was posted to the court’s website.