Rothschild to snub broker Credit Suisse
BILLIONAIRE Nat Rothschild is preparing to sideline longstanding adviser Credit Suisse by appointing a new broker for his London-listed mining venture Bumi, City A.M. can reveal.
Bumi has held a beauty parade for investment banks that is likely to see either Barclays Capital or Bank of America Merrill Lynch appointed following a decision at the company’s board meeting next Tuesday.
The new bank will gain a top spot advising the FTSE 250 coalminer that Rothschild created by floating a cash shell, Vallar, last year.
While Credit Suisse might not be officially dropped, it is likely to see itself sidelined in major decisions following a row between Rothschild and the Bakrie family, who are his Indonesian business partners and fellow shareholders in Bumi.
Credit Suisse counts the Bakries among its best clients in Asia.
And the bank has been ruled out of advising Bumi on “one thing after another” due to a series of conflicts, said a source familiar with the matter.
The snub to Credit Suisse follows a very public row after Rothschild, who is co-chairman of Bumi, wrote a letter to his own board calling for a corporate governance clean-up.
The letter was leaked before it had even been sent, prompting a sharp response from the Bakries, one of Indonesia’s most politically connected families.
While JP Morgan, Bumi’s other broker, has also advised the Bakries, it is much closer to Rothschild.
All parties declined to comment.