Nat Rothschild defeated in bid to replace board of Bumi

Financier Nat Rothschild has been defeated in his bid to replace the board of Bumi, an Indonesian mining company he helped create.

At an extraordinary meeting in London yesterday, shareholders rejected 19 of Mr Rothschild’s 22 resolutions, including one that would have seen him return to the board.

He claimed some success after a “substantial majority” of independent shareholders voted for his proposals. The miner announced that Samin Tan, who Mr Rothschild had sought to oust as chairman, would step down and that a search to replace the Indonesian tycoon was under way.

The financier had also called on Bumi’s eight independent non-executive directors to go, saying they had “demonstrably lost the confidence of the majority of non-aligned shareholders”.

However, Nick von Schirnding, Bumi’s chief executive, said the board had received a mandate from the majority of independent investors.

– (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2013)