Rothschild, the independent advisory firm, has added another major Russian deal to its shelf of tombstones, after the owners of TNK-BP employed the bank to help it buy out the half-stake owned by UK oil giant BP.

The Alfa Access-Renova consortium, comprised of Mikhail Fridman, German Khan, Viktor Vekselberg and Len Blavatnik, have employed Rothschild to help organise a loan syndicate to buy out BP. The consortium faces competition from rivals including Rosneft, the Russian oil giant led by former deputy of energy Igor Sechin, which is also interested in buying BP's stake.