Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) today announces that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Qatar Holding LLC (Qatar Holding), has purchased a 20 per cent stake in the London Stock Exchange (LSE).
The purchase forms part of QIA's overall strategy to build long term investments in high quality businesses and infrastructure assets around the world. QIA believes that the LSE has excellent growth prospects based on its leading-edge technology and its attractiveness as a market to both issuers and investors. Neither QIA nor Qatar Holding currently intends to make an offer for the LSE but reserves its position in the event that a third party announces a firm intention to make an offer.
This is a key investment for Qatar Holding and QIA, and one that it intends to hold for the long term. The QIA group sees itself as a shareholder that will provide stability and support for the Board's strategy of developing further its business and thereby reinforce the City of London's position as the world's top global capital market.