Bumi shares drop on rift rumours between two of its largest shareholders

Shares in mining giant Bumi dropped even further on Thursday on the back of reports that the Bakrie family has come to blows with Samin Tan, the business tycoon who nine months ago rescued the Bakrie Group when he invested one billion dollars in Bumi in return for a 47.6 per cent stake split evenly between Tan and the Bakries.

Since Tan made the investment, shares in Bumi have fallen around 80%, causing Tan to be "furious" with the Bakries, who are one of Indonesia's wealthiest and politically connected families.

According to Reuters, six unidentified sources have given details of the rift, with one reported as saying: "He [Tan] was furious with the Bakries, as you would be if you had borrowed $1bn to invest in their company and found yourself in this mess."

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The battle between the two could risk the $3.0bn deal that was signed in 2010 with the aim of making Bumi one of the world's largest coal exporters.

Shares in Bumi have been hit this week after Bumi said it was investigating allegations of financial and other irregularities at its Indonesian operations.

The investigation centres on PT Bumi Resources, in which the company has a 29% interest, with particular focus on that firm's development funds.

The share price fell 4.87% to 148.40p by 15:49.

NR