The real estate portfolio of the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) just got significantly bigger. They've just bought a nearly 10 percent stake in New York's iconic Empire State Building.
Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT), which manages the building, announced this week that QIA invested $622 million in the company, purchasing 29,610,854 newly issued class A common shares, a 9.9 percent interest in the company.
"We welcome QIA as an ESRT shareholder and see their investment as an endorsement of ESRT’s strategy, team and portfolio of irreplaceable assets," President and COO of ESRT John B. Kessler said in a statement .
"We continue to plan for the future, now with more capital and one of the most sophisticated and reliable real estate investors in the world as our partner."
The iconic skyscraper was the world's tallest manmade structure until the 1970s. The building also has its own zipcode. However, it's now the third highest in the United States, and the 30th in the world.
The tallest building is, of course, the Burj Khalifa located in chronic record-breaker Dubai.
A consortium of Qatari investors already owned an 80 percent stake in the United Kingdom's tallest skyscraper, The Shard in London. The tower is also currently the tallest in the European Union, however following Brexit, that classification will need to be updated.
As of last year, QIA also owns 100 percent of London's second largest financial district, Canary Wharf, in conjunction with Brookfield Property Partners LP.
In the U.S., Qatar also owns a majority share of the City Center Development in Washington D.C., the nation's capital. It invested $650 million in 2013, with a total project cost of $1 billion.
Qatar plans to invest some $35 billion in the U.S. over the next five years, according to an announcement made by officials last September.