Miner Bumi sets Dec. 4 date for vote on split from co-founders

LONDON, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Coal miner Bumi Plc (Other OTC: VLLRF - news) , which plans to split with the Indonesian Bakrie family that co-founded it, has set a date of Dec. 4 for shareholders to vote on the separation, a move it says will pave the way for a long-awaited overhaul.

Bumi's management and its key Indonesian shareholders have been hammering out the details of a split for months. A December vote will be over a year since the Bakries proposed a divorce, and almost 11 months since the parties agreed to broad terms.

Bumi said in a statement late on Thursday that its independent directors unanimously recommended a vote in favour of the split, along with a move to rename the group and an agreement setting out the terms of its relationship with its new core shareholder.

"The separation is financially attractive and value accretive," Nick von Schirnding, chief executive officer of Bumi, said.

"The transaction will allow us to move forward to create a focused coal producer with a clear strategy for the further restoration of shareholder value."

Bumi was created in 2010 to bring Indonesian mining assets to London investors, but has struggled with feuding shareholders since its creation: the Bakries' relationship with their co-founder, financier Nat Rothschild, soured within months.

The split, if approved, will see the Bakries sell their stake in the London-listed firm to their current partner and outgoing chairman Samin Tan, who will end up with 47.6 percent.

The Bakries will then buy back London-listed Bumi's 29.2 percent stake in troubled Jakarta-listed unit PT Bumi for $501 million, above the current market price.

The Bakries hope the split will end their bruising London adventure, marked by boardroom battles, whistleblower investigations and a crumbling thermal coal price.

Bumi's management, meanwhile, wants a fresh start, with a new name and a company focused on its other main subsidiary, Berau coal. Shareholders will also vote next month on the decision to rename the group Asia Resource Minerals Plc.

Bumi has separately been trying to recover cash lost at Berau, after it reached a deal with a former executive, Rosan Roeslani, to claw back $173 million. It said on Thursday that it had now begun arbitration proceedings, after Roeslani failed to make an initial payment of $30 million in cash by Sept. 26.