LONDON--Indonesian coal miner Bumi PLC (VLLRF, BUMI.LN)
confirmed Monday that financier and major Bumi shareholder
Nathaniel Rothschild has submitted an alternative proposal to the
powerful Indonesian Bakrie family's proposal to buy out all of the
U.K.-listed miner's assets for more than $1.2 billion in cash.
Mr. Rothschild, the 41 year-old scion of the Rothschild banking
dynasty, submitted the offer late Friday to Bumi's board and has
hired Morgan Stanley to provide financial advice on the matter,
according to two people familiar with the matter.
Bumi didn't disclose any details about the proposal but said its
nonexecutive board of directors would evaluate the offer with the
help of the Rothschild Group, a bank which the board hired to
provide an independent valuation on the proposals made to the
board. The Rothschild Group isn't affiliated with Mr.
Rothschild.
The miner said its board would only make a recommendation once
an independent investigation into financial irregularities at
Bumi's Indonesian coal assets, particularly at Indonesia's largest
coal producer, PT Bumi Resources Tbk (BUMI.JK), has been completed.
Bumi owns a 29% stake in PT Bumi Resources.
Mr. Rothschild's alternative proposal is likely to heighten
already strained relationships between Bumi's largest shareholders
and board members. The proposal seeks to remove Bumi's Chairman
Tamin San and another large Indonesian shareholder, Rosan Perkasa
Roeslani, from Bumi's board by offering compensation for their
stakes in Bumi, according one of the people familiar with the
matter.
A spokesman for Mr. Rothschild declined to comment on the
matter.
Both people said Mr. Rothschild's proposal lacked details
including how the transaction would be executed, financed and at
what price. It also didn't mention if there were any third parties
involved, according to one of the people familiar with the matter.
The two however said that the proposal seemed aimed at keeping
Bumi's 85% stake in PT Berau Coal Energy Tbk (BCUYF, BRAU.JK)
within the London-listed miner's fold. The Bakrie Group proposed
last month buying the Berau stake for $950 million once it had
closed on the purchase of Bumi's 29% stake in Bumi Resources for
cash and cancelling the Bakrie Group's 23.8% stake in the
London-listed miner.
While Mr. Rothschild seems amenable to the part of the Bakrie
proposal that would see the Bakrie family exit Bumi's board and
shareholding in exchange for Bumi's stake in Bumi Resources, he
opposes the entire sale of Bumi's Indonesian coal assets to the
Bakrie Group, a proposal which Mr. Tan said he's willing to
accept.
Mr. Rothschild resigned from Bumi's board last month, voicing
concerns that Mr. Tan was determined to drive through a proposal
that wasn't in the interests of Bumi's minority shareholders and
seemed to favor Mr. Tan.
Analysts at Liberum Capital said, "We don't think a superior
cash offer from Rothschild seems likely," adding that "any proposal
surrounding Berau will relate more to a change in the share
register rather than a cash offer."
-Write to Alex MacDonald at alex.macdonald@dowjones.com
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