Qatar acquires 5.2% stake in US jewellery giant

Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund has acquired a 5.2 percent stake in Tiffany, the US-based jewellery retailer, it was reported on Friday. The stake expands the portfolio of the Qatar Investment Authority, which also owns Harrods, the luxury London department store, a 17 percent stake in Volkswagen and a one percent stake in LVMH, the French luxury group which owns Louis Vuitton, the UK's Financial Times reported QIA acquired its position last year and reported it this year in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, the FT said. According to the filing, QIA’s stake in Tiffany hit 5 percent on December 30 and is estimated to be worth about $437m. The FT said the QIA declined to comment about the investment. The stake makes the QIA Tiffany’s largest shareholder, with investment fund Vanguard the next largest, with 5.17 percent, it added. Qatar's investment firms have been on a buying spree in France in recent months, including the purchase of football team Paris Saint-Germain. Qatari funds have also bought 10 percent of French media company Lagardere and 5.6 percent of construction giant Vinci. Last month it was also reported that Qatar had a two percent stake in oil group Total. The wife of the Qatari emir bought a controlling stake in French handbag maker Le Tanneur & Cie in May last year while the Gulf state also has an interest in London department store Harrods.