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• YPF 71% Rate It

YPF SA (YPFD), Argentina's largest oil company, plunged the most on record in Buenos Aires and New York after the government rejected Repsol YPF SA ( YPF )'s demand for $10.5 billion in compensation for the unit's nationalization, accoring to Bloomberg.

Shares fell 24% to 82 pesos at 2.47 p.m. in Buenos Aires after earlier dropping 25%, the most since 1994 when Bloomberg records begin. The company's American depositary receipts plunged a record 28% to $14 as trading resumed today after a halt imposed April 16.

Argentina's Deputy Economy Minister Axel Kicillof rejected Repsol's compensation demand for its YPF unit and said the government will rely on "solid data" to value its takeover of 51% of its shares, Bloomberg said. President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner moved to seize YPF this week, saying the company hasn't invested enough in the South American country.

"Nobody knows how much the government plans to pay for the shares and that's making people nervous," Juan Jose Vasquez, an analyst at Bull Market Brokers SA, reportedly said by telephone from Buenos Aires. "Also, once the company is controlled by the state, its purpose won't be maximizing shareholder value anymore."

The government will ensure the profitability of the company "beyond Repsol's expectations," Kicillof, who Fernandez named to help lead YPF April 16, reportedly said at a Senate hearing yesterday. Repsol's shares dropped the most in three years in Madrid today.

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