(Bloomberg) -- Investors who won a $16 billion judgment against Argentina over its nationalization of energy firm YPF SA more than a decade ago are open to receiving payment in bonds instead of cash, according to people familiar with the matter.

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Burford Capital, a litigation funder that’s the biggest stakeholder in the case, would accept sovereign bonds or other marketable securities, considering the Argentine central bank’s depleted foreign reserves, the people noted, asking not to be identified because the discussions are private. It acquired rights to the lawsuit in 2015 for $16.6 million from former YPF shareholders and stands to make at least $6.2 billion if the full judgment is paid.

The fund’s more flexible stance on repayment could mark an olive branch in a dispute that’s dragged on Argentina’s attempts to emerge from decades of financial debacles. Talks between Burford representatives and government officials have gone nowhere despite meetings in recent weeks, the people said. The lack of meaningful progress under President Javier Milei, who took office last December, comes more than a year since a US federal judge ruled in Burford’s favor.

Argentina’s Economy Ministry and Milei’s chief spokesperson didn’t respond to requests for comment. Milei remarked several months ago on the possibility of selling a “perpetual bond” to pay down the YPF case, but no concrete strategy emerged. The central bank has more liabilities than assets, an impediment to cash payments known as net negative reserves.

Wall Street has warmed up to Argentine dollar bonds as Milei implements strict austerity measures while he passed business-friendly reforms through Congress. Sovereign notes, which were deep in distressed territory a year ago, are now the best performers in emerging markets so far in 2024.

Having defaulted three times in the last 24 years — the last of which was in 2020 — Argentina’s access to capital markets is still restricted. While Caputo has outlined plans to sell bonds, some investors have cast doubt Argentina could pull that off.

Argentina’s history of reneging on its sovereign debt would lend a note of irony to Burford receiving them as payment. In the case most frequently compared to the YPF one, Paul Singer’s Elliott Management sued the Argentine government over its 2001 default and waged a 15-year court fight to collect on sovereign debt it held. Argentina settled with Singer and other investors for $4.7 billion in 2016.