Qatar Wealth Fund Backs Apollo Commercial REIT in U.S. Expansion
Sovereign fund bought 8.8 million REIT common shares
Qatar plans to invest $35 billion in U.S. in next five years
Excerpt
Originally published September 29, 2015 at 5:40pm EST
Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, which plans to invest $35 billion in the U.S. in the next five years, is backing a commercial real estate investment trust run by a subsidiary of Leon Black’s Apollo Global Management LLC.
The Qatar Investment Authority bought 8.82 million common shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Inc. on Sept. 18, according to documents filed on Monday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The REIT announced on Sept. 21 that it sold these shares at $17 each for a total of $150 million, and that it raised another $198 million from the same unidentified investor through preferred stock sales.
The Qatar authority, which helps manage the Middle Eastern country’s energy-generated wealth, announced on Monday that it’s opening an office in New York to better access new and existing investment partners. TheDoha-based fund, which controls more than $250 billion, will target various sectors of the U.S. economy, Mohammed Al Kuwari, Qatar’s ambassador tothe U.S., said in Twitter postings.
The Qatar fund ranks as the largest shareholder of Glencore Plc, the Swiss commodities trader that has lost more than 70 percent of its market value this year. […]