Rothschild to land £120m Bumi windfall
FINANCIER Nat Rothschild has made a £120m windfall following the completion of the reverse takeover of Indonesian coal mines in his investment vehicle Vallar.
Rothschild and three partners, including former Anglo-American executive James Campbell, invested £100m into Vallar last year, and put £20m into “founder shares”, which entitled them to a bigger stake once the vehicle made its first acquisition.
In November last year Vallar bought stakes in Berau Coal Energy, Indonesia’s fifth-largest coal producer and Bumi Resources, in a $3bn cash and share transaction.
The company, renamed Bumi Plc, revealed the issue of 16m new shares to the founders after the market closed on Friday.
It is understood that Rothschild invested 86 per cent of the original £20m, entitling him to about £120m of the payout, while Campbell, who holds 10 per cent of the founders’ shares, received £13.8m.
Bumi, which is 55 per cent owned by Indonesia’s powerful Bakrie family, part of Indonesia’s ruling coalition, closed at 863p on Friday, valuing the company at £1.5bn.