Qatar Investment Authority buys a piece of Empire State Building
Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund has made an iconic purchase in America — a stake in the company that owns New York’s Empire State Building.
The $622m purchase by the Qatar Investment Authority comes as the Doha fund increases its investments in the US.
The Empire State Realty Trust Inc., which manages the 102-storey, 1,454-foot-tall building, announced the Qatari purchase late Tuesday, saying the fund would gain a 9.9% stake in the company. The trust owns a total of 14 office properties and six retail properties around the New York area.
The Qatar Investment Authority did not respond to a request for comment.
The pointed top of the Art Deco-style Empire State Building, once the tallest structure in the world, still stands out in New York’s famed skyline. It remains a major tourist attraction and has been the centerpiece of major American films from “King Kong” to “Sleepless in Seattle.”
Qatar, an OPEC member, is a strong regional ally for Washington and hosts American bombers and the forward headquarters of the US military’s Central Command at its vast al-Udeid air base.
Qatar will host the 2022 FIFA World Cup and has been on a building boom. The nation’s investment authority, estimated to be worth some $335bn by the Las Vegas-based Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute, has been increasingly eyeing opportunities in the US.
Last September, it announced plans to open an office in New York and committed to investing $35bn in the US over the next five years.
The fund’s existing American holdings include a more than 10% stake in New York-based luxury jeweler Tiffany & Co. It sold its share of the American film studio Miramax to Qatar-based media group beIN in March for an undisclosed sum.
Also among the Qatari fund’s interests in America is a 44% stake in the $8.6bn redevelopment project in New York known as Manhattan West, which includes remodeling the building that’s now home to the global headquarters of The Associated Press.
The AP announced in August 2015 it planned to move from that building to another near the World Trade Center.
Courtesy: nypost.com
It's the beginning only ............ Congrats ........... !!
Damn that Rizks.. No wonder he was smirking as he counted the money :O(
I think he cheated on you, brit. You thought you had bought parts of Chin Tu Fat, but actually you've only bought a formal ownership of unspecified parts and there is nothing you can do with them. Every time you want to claim a part of Chin Tu Fat Rizks will say that this part is not part of the deal. You bought ownership but not usage!
I think you're wrong WT. Rizks sold me 12% share of his Emporium and said that I now own parts of Chin Tu Fat and Luv Lee Lai also. He hasn't told me which parts though :O(
The title is misleading, as usual. They didn't buy a "piece of the Empire State Building".They bought shares of the company who, among other properties, owns the Empire State Building. Again, journalism at the lowest level!
A wise investment .. It will only increase