Rothschild resigns in war of words at troubled Bumi

BILLIONAIRE financier Nat Rothschild last night resigned from the board of Londonlisted coalminer Bumi in a dramatic escalation of his row with the powerful Indonesian Bakrie family. In a blistering letter to Bumi chairman Samin Tan, Rothschild said he had lost confidence in the board. He declared his opposition to a proposal by the Bakries to buy back their assets from the group for around £873m, which he said is a ‘derisory’ offer that breaches the Takeover Code. The tycoon added that it is a ‘matter of great regret’ that he helped bring the Bakries to London and accused them and Tan of having damaged Indonesia’s international reputation, creating an appalling ‘ impression’ to potential foreign investors. Shares in Bumi fell more than 12.39pc to 245.3p yesterday. Rothschild, who initially invested £100m, has seen his stake shrink by £40m. In his letter he accused Tan of being complicit in the ‘oppression’ of minority shareholders and said it would be a ‘disgrace’ even to entertain the Bakries’ proposal. Rothschild also voiced suspicions the Bakries were ‘acting in concert’ with Rosan Roeslani, chairman of fund manager Recapital, because of their reluctance to recall a $500m loan at a time when Bumi was heavily in debt. The Bakrie camp hit back saying Tan had delivered a letter to the senior non-executive director of Bumi at the weekend, calling for Rothschild’s removal, and claiming that is ‘the real reason he resigned’. Tan accused Rothschild of reading his e-mails, which if proven, he said, ‘represents a serious crime under the definition of any legal jurisdiction’. Rothschild had made a recent threat to send him to jail in London, Tan wrote, and have him banned as a company director. Bumi recently launched a probe into ‘potential financial and other irregularities’ at PT Bumi Resources, one of the firms owned by the Bakrie family, in which it owns a 29pc stake. The board last night said its independent directors all supported the Bakries’ buy back but ‘have not formed a view on value’. The Bakries said they would ‘pursue to the full extent of the law the allegations that have been presented to us’ adding that Rothschild has a lot to ‘ answer for, and now he has the audacity to say we have disgraced Indonesia’ and that he ‘has clearly taken care of himself without any consideration to others’.