Katara Hospitality, a unit of the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), has acquired the 282-room iconic Plaza Hotel in Manhattan for approximately $600 million.
Katara acquired 100 percent of the property from India’s Sahara Group and a 25 percent stake held by New York real-estate investor Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp. and its partner Saudi Prince al-Waleed bin Talal.
QIA has been buying hotels and luxury properties as part of its effort to diversify. It already owns landmark hotels such as The Savoy and The Connaught in London.
The Plaza Hotel deal is the largest investment in the Western property market by QIA since the start of the blockade in June last year, according to Reuters.
