Rothschild 'wrong' on Bumi's deal dangers, says deputy chairman Sir Julian Horn-Smith Mr Rothschild fears that the Bakries" offer could breach the spirit of the Takeover Code because chairman and major shareholder Samin Tan is expected to be reimbursed on his shares at a higher price than Bumi's other shareholders. However, Sir Julian said that the "key issue here is actually removing the Bakries from the company." The Bakries are understood to be willing to exit Bumi, with a spokesman saying that "there are no winners in this deal any more, it's pure damage control." Nonetheless, Sir Julian did not rule out the chance that somebody else makes an offer. Accounts of Mr Rothschild's exit vary, with a spokesman saying on Tuesday that it was his "decision alone" as it was "clear after [Thursday's] Singapore board meeting that it was impossible for him to remain on such a dysfunctional board." Bumi's chairman Mr Tan, an associate of the Bakries, had apparently threatened to resign if Mr Rothschild did not. Mr Tan has alleged that the British financier might even have gained access to his emails and read some of them, and also claimed that Mr Rothschild had threatened to send him to jail. A spokesman for Mr Rothschild said the only email he saw was contained in documents sent to the board by the lawyers behind the ongoing investigation into Bumi's Indonesian subsidiaries and that he made no reference to prison. He also denied that the financier was, or connected to, the whistleblower whose dossier triggered the investigation. The Bakries have now appointed law firm Clifford Chance, it emerged on Tuesday, as they want their own legal representation as the investigation into alleged irregularities in Indonesia continues, and believe phones and emails are being hacked. "This company is worth more dead than alive," said an insider. What we now need to do is impose some order on this terrible disorder and get some senior City figures taking control over the bratty elements.