Nathaniel Rothschild asked to return Bumi shares

By Ruli Setiawan

As a result of the acquisition structure designed by Nathaniel Rothschild in the forming of Bumi Plc, he and his associates received shares in the company equal to approximately 6.67 percent of the Bumi's share capital, amounting to 16.1 million shares. These shares, along with the advisory and other fees and expenses he charged to the company, does mean that unlike all other shareholders, Rothschild still holds the money.

Sir Julian Horn-Smith, senior independent non- executive director of Bumi plc, recently reported to have called on Nat Rothschild to return the bonus shares that he was granted in Bumi plc as a reward following the transaction which created the company.

"It is now clear that the deal and deal structure which Nat proposed and championed for Vallar plc has resulted in considerable losses for many shareholders. Following meetings with shareholders over the past few weeks there is growing pressure from them for Nat to return these shares," he said.

"The Board believes it is unjust that Nat should be able to continue to own and vote these shares which he received as the result of a flawed transaction. It is wrong for failure to be rewarded and this bonus should be clawed back," he said in a statement made available to the exchange.

Editing by Er Audy Zandri