Aviva, UBS increase BP stake

NEW YORK: Since the start of May, some major investors have bought shares of BP Plc, seeing the stock as a bargain after a sharp fall in price.

Aviva Investors and UBS Asset Management increased their ownership of BP in the wake of the explosion in April and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon, which started an oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico estimated to be up to 60,000 barrels a day.

Aviva bought about 30 million shares between the beginning of May and the first week of June, adding almost 30 per cent to its holdings and increasing its ownership of BP to 0.7 per cent of BP's outstanding shares, according to Reuters Insider television after an analysis of Thomson Reuters data.

UBS added 8.6 million BP shares to its portfolio as of a June 7 filing, increasing its ownership of BP's U.S. shares to nearly 0.5 per cent, and 0.9 per cent globally, according to Citywatch.

Aviva and UBS have been among the few active buyers as there has been more selling by smaller holders.

Top-10 holder Scottish Widows sold more than 20 per cent of its position in the past month, according to Citywatch. The company now holds a little less than 1.3 per cent of BP shares.

Scottish Widows told Reuters earlier this month it was adding small amounts of BP's debt to its bond portfolio, saying the company was an unlikely bankruptcy candidate.

Fidelity sold off nearly all of its BP shares, seeing dividend risks and lower oil prices. Fidelity sold the remainder of its shares when the Gulf crisis began.

Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management said it has only passive exposure to BP's London shares through an index fund.