We assume that the Bumi survivalists, led by Sir Julian Horn-Smith, never really expected Nat Rothschild to just retire from the scene after suffering defeat in the boardroom power struggle.
And so it has proved. Rothschild is still a subscriber to the Jakata Post and he’s noticed a curious item — the allegedly late disclosure of the sale of a stake in a subsidiary to what is reportedly a Bakrie family entity. Read more
Updated with some context: Bumi, the London-listed Indonesia-focused coal miner set up in 2010 by Nat Rothschild when he convinced Indonesia’s influential Bakrie family to reverse their coal assets into his cash shell Vallar, has been, well, rollicked as the share price plunged because of sliding coal prices, concerns about Bumi’s corporate governance, high debt levels and the out-break of investor warfare. Shocking. And Bumi is under particular stress right now because of allegations of financial irregularities at two of its subsidiaries.
The release below concerns the long awaited report into that mire by law-firm Macfarlanes. Well, we don’t actually get the report itself, but we do get some details… Read more
From the pen of Nat Rothschild…
Click to enlarge for the full letter to Samin Tan: Read more
The Indonesian shareholders in coal miner Bumi are open to a compromise that would see financier Nat Rothschild stand down as co-chairman of the company but remain on its board, according to people familiar with the matter. Publicly, however, the shareholders – the businessman Samin Tan and the Bakrie family – are insisting on pushing through their proposal to drop Mr Rothschild and will launch a charm offensive next week to persuade others to back them, reports the FT. The Bakries and Mr Tan, who together own 29.9 per cent of the voting rights in Bumi, said last Friday that they wanted to remove Mr Rothschild and other key directors from the board. They proposed Mr Tan and Indra Bakrie be named as co-chairmen. Read more
Indonesia’s Bakrie Group is selling a 23.8 per cent stake in London-listed Bumi, its joint venture with financier Nathaniel Rothschild, to coal miner Borneo Lumbung Energi, Reuters reports, citing a draft statement. The sale of about half of Bakrie’s stake in Bumi, for $1bn, values the Bumi shares at about £10.91 each, which Borneo says is a 6 per cent premium to the last 6-month volume-weighted average price, and would be payable in cash. The deal with Borneo, which is backed by Indonesian investor Samin Tan, would help Bakrie pay off the bulk of an $1.345bn loan and extricate itself from a debt crunch that has weighed on the share price of the world’s largest thermal coal exporter Bumi Resources. The draft statement read: ”(Borneo) has signed a sale and purchase agreement, conditional upon shareholder, regulatory and other approvals, to acquire an effective economic interest of approximately 23.8 percent in Bumi Plc,” Reuters says.
Indonesia’s influential Bakrie family, the largest shareholder in London-listed miner Bumi, is considering selling off assets to repay a $1.34bn loan to a syndicate led by Credit Suisse, the FT reports, citing people familiar with the matter. The family’s most valuable asset is its 47 per cent stake in Bumi, raising the possibility of a sell-down and the introduction of new investors wanting exposure to Indonesia’s most lucrative coal mines. Repayment on the Bakries’ $1.3bn loan, which is due in March 2012, has been brought forward because the market value of the family’s Bumi stake is no longer enough to cover it. The Bakries pledged the entirety of their Bumi shareholding as collateral for the loan. A representative for the Bakrie family could not be reached for comment.
Vallar, the London-listed cash shell founded by financier Nat Rothschild, is proceeding with plans to expand its stake in Indonesia’s biggest coal company, as its transformation into a sizeable miner gains pace, reports the FT. Vallar stands to gain an indirect controlling stake in Kaltim Prima Coal mine – the world’s largest thermal coal mine – by increasing its shareholding in Bumi Resources, operater of the mine, to 51% later next month. Bumi Resources, owned by Indonesia’s Bakrie family, has a majority stake in KPC, while India’s Tata holds 30%. Andrew Beckham, CFO of both Bumi and Vallar, said in an email that the Bakries were likely to approve a plan to increase Vallar’s 25% stake in Bumi via a share swap planned for May, although he did not elaborate on how the transaction would occur. Read more
Vallar, the cash shell founded by financier Nathaniel Rothschild, will pay $3bn in a complex deal that will see Rothschild acquire stakes in two large Indonesia coal companies – PT Bumi Resources and PT Berau Coal Energy, and will involve a UK listing for the interests of Indonesia’s wealthy Bakrie family, reports the FT. A new company combining the assets of the two Indonesian groups and Vallar shares will be listed in London as Bumi Plc. Trading in Vallar shares, which raised £700m in a public flotation in July, will be suspended. FT Alphaville draws parallels between the Vallar deal and the formation of Anglo-Swiss miner Xstrata. Read more
JPMorgan’s hyperactive M&A banker Ian Hannam has been uncharacteristically quiet over the past few months.
And now we know why. He’s been working on a deal to create a “new London-listed resources champion”. Read more
TPG has withdrawn from a deal in Indonesia between Northstar Pacific, a local affiliate of the US buyout group, and the country’s powerful Bakrie family to buy shares in coalminer Bumi Resources, said people familiar with the situation. TPG’s withdrawal was due to uncertainty over the economics of the deal after it was transformed from being a straightforward purchase of 35% of Bumi to the formation of a strategic partnership, a person with knowledge of the decision said on Monday. Patrick Walujo, Northstar’s founder, said that TPG was now “evaluating its position” but that his firm remained committed to acquiring “as much as possible” of Bumi. Read more
