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London. The Bakrie family and its shareholder partner in Bumi Plc are seeking to oust financier Nathaniel Rothschild and other key directors from the board of the London-listed coal miner.

The Bakries sold a stake in Bumi Plc in November to a group backed by businessman Samin Tan to extricate themselves from a debt crunch.

In a surprise statement on Friday, the Bakrie family and Tan, who now together own a 29 percent voting stake in Bumi Plc, announced they were seeking greater representation — demanding a shareholder meeting to replace not only Rothschild, the erstwhile partner and current chairman, but four other directors.

The request, which arrived at Bumi Plc’s headquarters late on Thursday, sparked fresh speculation over deteriorating relations between Rothschild and the Bakries and sent shares down 4.5 percent to 850 pence on Friday.

The Bakries and Tan are demanding the replacement of Ari Hudaya, who is also chief executive of part-owned, Jakarta-listed miner Bumi Resources, by Bakrie family lieutenant Nalinkant Rathod.

Andrew Beckham, chief financial officer, would also be replaced. If the changes are approved by shareholders at the general meeting, to be held within the next two months, Samin Tan would become chairman under the new structure, with Indra Bakrie as co-chairman. Indra Bakrie is regarded as the business head of the multi-billion dollar Bakrie family conglomerate.

Other directors who would leave if the changes are approved include the former Anglo-American head of coal, James Campbell, one of Rothschild’s first partners in his coal venture.

“This is not about personal relations,” a Bakrie spokesman said, brushing off talk of a deepening rift between Rothschild and his one-time partners. “This is about the best board structure for what is a listed company.”

Under the new structure, the executive roles are expected to be based in London, two sources familiar with the matter said, in a bid to improve visibility and relations with institutional shareholders. Last year, Rothschild, who owns just under 12 percent of Bumi Plc, called for a “radical cleaning up” of corporate governance at miner Bumi Resources, an affiliate of Bumi Plc, in a show of frustration with his Indonesian partners.

Reuters