Qatar Regains Deal Appetite With Investments From Russia to U.K. - Bloomberg

Qatar Regains Deal Appetite With Investments From Russia to U.K. - Bloomberg:
"Qatar, the world’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas, is investing alongside the billionaire’s Glencore Plc in an $11 billion deal to buy 19.5 percent of Russia’s Rosneft PJSC. The Qatar Investment Authority is also part of a group of investors that on Thursday agreed to take a 61 percent stake in the U.K. gas-distribution business of National Grid Plc. The sovereign wealth fund is also interested in putting money into Italian lender Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA, Il Sole 24 Ore reported.

Qatar -- known for making trophy European investments ranging from Credit Suisse Group AG to London department store Harrods during the days when oil was trading at more than $100 a barrel -- scaled back as crude prices slumped and the government reshuffled the fund’s management in late 2014. Under Sheikh Abdulla bin Mohamed bin Saud Al Thani, the QIA, as the fund is known, has been boosting its focus on real-estate assets in Asia and the U.S. as it seeks to diversify from energy production.

“This is the return of the dealmaking and alliance-building of Qatar that we haven’t seen for a few years,” Sven Behrendt, managing director of GeoEconomica, said by phone from Geneva. “It is quite a surprise to see them back in this role after the fall in oil prices and a few quieter years while the QIA was being restructured under new management and expected to be more measured and sophisticated in future.”"

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