Bakrie family seeks to remove Rothschild from board

The Bakrie family and its business partner Samin Tam want to remove five directors, including financier Nat Rothschild, from the board of Indonesian coalminer Bumi, in a bid to obtain greater control over the management of the London-listed company.

In a statement released on 3 February, the Bakrie family and Tan, who together control 29.9% of Bumi’s voting shares, called for a shareholder meeting to be held in the next two months, in order to remove Rothschild and four other directors from the company’s board.

If the shareholders accept the proposed changes, Tan would be elected chairman of the company, with Indra Bakrie, a family member, serving as co-chairman.

Nalinkant Amratlal Rathod, a close associate of the Bakries, would become chief executive.

Rothschild, who is a descendent of the Rothschild banking dynasty and currently serves as Bumi’s chairman, owns 11% of the company. In November, he asked for a “radical cleaning up” of corporate governance at the mining group.

The Bakrie family and Tan also want to oust James Campbell, who was Rothschild’s business partner when he first ventured into the coal industry, as well as Andrew Beckham, Badung Tariono and Amir Sambodo.

When contacted, a spokesperson for Bumi said the company doesn’t want to comment further.

In November, the Bakries sold a stake in Bumi to Indonesian businessman Tan, who owns coal miner Borneo Lumbung Energi, and investment bank Renaissance Capital, in a bid to avoid a loan default.

The Bakrie family’s holding company, the Bakrie Group, was founded in 1942 by Achmad Bakrie. Today the conglomerate, whose interest span agriculture to shipping and mining, is headed by second-generation Nirwan and his family.