DOHA: Qatar Holding will support the purchase by Songbird Estates of an additional 8.45 percent of the share capital of Canary Wharf Group, a leading real estate investment and development company with over seven million square feet of office and retail space, for £112.5m.
This purchase will increase Songbird's share in the Canary Wharf Group to 69.3 percent.
Qatar Holding announced here yesterday that the decision was in line with its previous statement that expressed its intention to become the largest shareholder in Songbird Estates.
As part of its increased commitment, Qatar Holding intends to enlarge its investment in the planned share issue by Songbird Estates.
In addition Qatar Holding will be a leading participant in providing a new debt facility to help fund the purchase by Songbird Estates of the additional shares in Canary Wharf Group. Qatar Holding will also be the lead participant in the previously announced £275m preference share issue by providing £150m, said Ahmad Al-Sayed, Chief Executive Officer of Qatar Holding.
"We fully support the management of Songbird in undertaking this transaction, which we believe is a good opportunity to create value for all Songbird shareholders. We are therefore increasing our participation in the planned fund-raising to ensure its successful completion", he said.
Qatar Holding LLC is established as the strategic and direct investment arm of Qatar Investment Authority.
With the vision of becoming a world class investment corporation and the preferred partner of choice for investors, financiers and other stakeholders; it is envisaged that the already significant investment portfolio of Qatar Holding will continue to grow.
Key investment assets of Qatar Holding include Barclays plc, Credit Suisse Group, J Sainsbury plc, Qatar Exchange, Qatar Telecom, Qatar National Bank, London Stock Exchange and Lagardere SCA.
The Canary Wharf estate extends to over 97 acres. Approximately 14.1 million square feet of office and retail space has been constructed to date. Canary Wharf Group owns over 7 million square feet of this space. The first tenants moved into Canary Wharf in August 1991 and now over 90,000 people work there.
© The Peninsula 2009
