against YPF, Morgan Stanley & Co. Inc., Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, and Goldman Sachs & Co., and other defendants, including Blejer. Monroe County is in the Detroit metropolitan area in Michigan. "The lawsuit was filed after YPF was nationalized, as a result of which all the directors were 'released' from their positions. This means that this not a personal claim," Blejer told "Globes" today. "This is quite a mass class-action lawsuit. In addition to myself, scores of directors are named, as well as some of the world's largest investment institutions, including Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, and Goldman Sachs." He adds that if the court finds in the defendants favor, YPF's parent company, Repsol SA (BCBA; IBEX: REP), has extended full insurance to the directors, and the insurance company will bear the costs.
"I told the Turkel Committee, in two different places on the form, about the claim," said Blejer, even though he said he never received the lawsuit. "As can be seen from the minutes, I opposed the distribution of dividends and abstained in the votes," he said, adding that he never signed documents relating to YPF's issues.
The lawsuit will reportedly not influence the Turkel Committee's decision, nor should it be an obstacle to Blejer's approval and appointment, especially since he notified the committee about the case. Blejer was never involved in YPF's nationalization, and the lawsuit only claims that the defendants failed to provide sufficient warning about a possible nationalization of the company.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 12, 2013
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