Qatar Holdings signed a deal on Saturday to buy a stake in London-based European Goldfields from Greek building firm Ellaktor and will invest another $600 million in the mining company, a source with direct knowledge of the deal told Reuters.
“Qatar Holdings (owner of the department store Harrods) is buying a 10 percent stake from the 25 percent stake Ellaktor holds in European Goldfields and will invest $600 million in European Goldfields (which is listed on the London and Toronto stock exchanges.),” the source said.
Greece granted European Goldfields a long-awaited permit in July that allows it to mine for gold in the north of the country, a move set to turn the London-based firm into the European Union’s largest primary gold producer.
Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani met Prime Minister George Papandreou in Athens on Saturday. Greece, which is in dire need of private investment as its worst recession in four decades is seen extending to next year, has long been trying to convince Qatar to invest in its private and public companies.
“Qatar’s investments show trust in the Greek economy,” Papandreou told a news conference after the meeting.
One person close to the European Goldfields transaction acknowledged that it would be presented as the Qataris assisting Greece during its moment of economic need, but said: “This isn’t an act of charity.”
(source: Reuters)
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