In a surprise twist, Rothschild had intended to install former Leighton chief Wal King as Bumi chairman.

In a general meeting yesterday, shareholders elected to keep Bumi PLC's chairman and chief executive, and most of the board, rejecting 19 of Rothschild’s 22 proposals.

The vote follows months of sparring between Rothschild and Indonesia’s influential Bakrie family. The two struck a deal in 2010 with the aim of offering Indonesian mining assets through a London company protected by UK market rules.

The deal had the potential to be highly lucrative, but Bumi PLC lost heavily as the partnership with Bakrie soured, international coal prices sank and the two sides attacked each other with allegations of misuse of funds and illegal phone hacking.

Rothschild's own bid to rejoin the board, as executive director, received the least support from voting shareholders. Just 37% of those voting backed him.

The Bumi PLC board said it would move on the plan proposed by the Bakries to separate the company from the Bakrie Group by selling its 23.8% share in return for 10.3% of the highly prized Indonesia-based Bumi Resources.

If agreed, the Bakries would buy the remaining 18.9 per cent stake of Bumi Resources from Bumi PLC for $US278 million.

Calling the shareholder vote an endorsement of the board's strategy, the company said it would “now prioritize ... the execution of the separation from the Bakrie Group and PT Bumi Resources Tbk and will put this transaction to shareholders for approval as soon as possible''.