24 August 2016Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), the Gulf state’s investment arm, has invested $622 million in the owner of the Empire State Building in NY.
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In company news, Empire State Realty Trust ( ESRT ) jumped out to a small gain after-hours last night, climbing about 1% after the property manager said an affiliate of the Qatar Investment Authority acquired almost one-fifth of the company’s Class A stock at $21.00 per share, a 2.3% premium over Tuesday’s closing price. The QIA has a subsidiary in NY called Qatar Investment Authority Advisory (US) Inc.
The Empire State Building is the company’s largest asset.
Its owner’s portfolio also includes more than a dozen other office and retail properties, mostly in Manhattan.
It has featured in several Hollywood films, including Sleepless in Seattle, The Producers and the 1933 version of King Kong.
Tiny Qatar, an OPEC member, is a strong regional ally for Washington and hosts American bombers and the forward headquarters of the USA military’s Central Command at its vast al-Udeid air base. However, its government coffers have been hard hit by the drop of global oil prices, which have fallen from over $100 a barrel in the summer of 2014 to around $50 now.
The Las Vegas-based Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute estimates the Qatari fund is worth some $335 billion.
QIA’s entire 9.9 percent stake is in Class A shares, which represents a 19.4 percent ownership of Class A shares.
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In September 2015, Qatar announced plans to invest about $35 billion in the us over the next five years.
