M

ining 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 told Reuters.

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, however, and in October the Bakries bid US$1.4 billion to reacquire the 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. Rothschild declined to comment and Friedland was not available for comment.

Bumi’s head of corporate affairs Nick von Schirnding told The Jakarta Post on Thursday that the company would evaluate all proposals, both the Bakrie and Rothschild ones, once an investigation into alleged misappropriation of company assets was completed later in December.

“We will be meticulous and nothing will be rushed through,” he said.