FRIEDLAND BACKS NAT ROTHSCHILD OVER BUMI -SOURCES

Mining sector entrepreneur Robert Friedland is lending his support to Nat Rothschild’s move to keep alive the London-listed Bumi Plc coal-mining venture, sources familiar with the matter said.

Rothschild founded Bumi two years ago with Indonesia’s politically connected Bakrie family, which reversed Indonesian operating assets into a shell company set up by Rothschild.

The relationship has soured, and, in October, the Bakries bid $1.4 billion to reacquire operating assets that underpin Bumi, a move that would dismantle the group.

Earlier this month, Bumi said Rothschild had proposed an alternative. Sources familiar with the matter said that proposal would see Bakrie-supporting shareholders bought out, while Bumi would keep some coal assets, namely majority-owned Berau Coal.

Friedland – a billionaire famous for spotting the potential of some of the world’s top deposits from Voisey’s Bay nickel deposit in Canada to Mongolia’s Oyu Tolgoi – has agreed to invest $50 million, one of the sources said on Thursday.

Bumi and Rothschild both declined to comment. Friedland was not available for comment.