Ex Thai prime minister to buy Bakrie?s shares in Bumi

Thaksin Shinawatra, the former prime minister of Thailand plans to acquire part of the London-listed Bumi Plc from one of Indonesian richest men, the Sunday Times.co.uk reported.

Thaksin is in discussions to buy the 23.8% stake owned by the Bakrie family, who co-founded Bumi three years ago with Nat Rothschild. The former Thai primer minister, which once owned Manchester City football club, was understood to have hired UBS.

It is unclear how much Thaksin would pay. But his arrival will raise concerns about a new power struggle at the stricken miner.

Bumi was created in 2010 when the Bakries, billionaires from Indonesia, injected their coal assets into a cash shell created by Rothschild. The two sides soon fell out amid accusations that hundreds of millions of pounds had disappeared, and an internal inquiry was launched. The Bakries claimed their emails were hacked; Rothschild alleged Bumi was being ?looted?.

The Bakrie family had already agreed to a buyout through an exchange worth US$278 million in cash as well as shares in Bumi for its minority ownership in Bumi Resources. There have been questions though as to the family's ability to finance the said agreement. (*)