Indonesia's
powerful Bakrie family hit out at British tycoon Nathaniel Rothschild Tuesday
after he resigned from the board of Bumi Plc, saying he was a "threat to
all shareholders" of the mining firm.
In the latest
saga of a row analysts say has attracted the attention of possible foreign
investors in Indonesia, the Bakries said Rothschild should have quit earlier to
avoid Bumi Plc's stock price from plunging.
"Mr.
Rothschild is a threat to all shareholders who are fighting for the best
interests of the company, and ultimately for themselves and the investors they
represent," Bakrie Group spokesman Chris Fong said.
"There
are no winners in this deal anymore, it's pure damage control."
Rothschild's
resignation on Monday from Bumi, which he co-founded with the Bakries, came as
its board considers a proposal by the Indonesian family to sever their ties
with the company and buy its most productive Indonesian mines.
The
long-running power struggle has seen the London-listed firm's shares slump more
than 70 percent this year.
At the
heart of the dispute is a Rothschild-backed probe into alleged financial
irregularities at the Bakrie-founded Bumi Resources, Indonesia's largest coal
miner, which is part-owned by Bumi Plc.
Bumi
Resources is among a string of companies owned by the family of Aburizal
Bakrie, one of Indonesia's wealthiest men and a likely candidate in
presidential elections in 2014.
The
65-year-old is one of Indonesia's richest men with businesses spanning coal,
telecommunications to construction.
But he is a
highly divisive figure in Indonesia after one of his companies was linked to
the triggering of a mud volcano near a gas drilling site in 2006.
The Bakries
have offered to give up their 23.8 percent stake in Bumi and pay about $1.2
billion for its mines, which would leave Bumi Plc with no assets other than the
cash from the deal.
In the
resignation letter quoted by Dow Jones Newswires, Rothschild stated his
vehement opposition to the Bakries' proposal.
He also
said chairman Samin Tan appeared "determined to drive through the Bakries'
proposal", a move he decried as a "disgrace" without first
completing a probe into alleged financial irregularities at Bumi Resources.
The
41-year-old scion of a European banking dynasty also expressed his
determination to fight for the company's investors from outside the board and
said he regretted helping the Bakrie family list in London.
The offer
for the break-up from the Bakries followed an investigation order by the Bumi
Plc board in September over "potential financial and other
irregularities", including a $637 million writedown of development funds
and assets in Bumi Resources.
Rothschild
was ousted as co-chair of Bumi Plc in March after calling for a "radical
clean-up" of the Indonesian firm.
Analysts
say the ugly battle has been carefully watched by potential foreign investors
already wary of corruption and a lack of corporate governance in Indonesia.
"It
had been hoped that the listing of Bumi Plc in London would create a new
ethos," said Keith Loveard of Jakarta based consultancy firm Concord
Consulting.
"Regrettably
the reverse has occurred," he added.
 |
Nat
Rothschild has resigned as a non-executive director
of mining group Bumi. Photograph:
Nick Harvey/WireImage
|
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