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Bloomberg
Qatar Airways Ltd. raised its stake in British Airways owner IAG SA to 20 percent, taking advantage of a drop in the company’s stock price since the Brexit vote last month. Qatar Airways, which increased the holding from 15.7 percent as of July 28, doesn’t plan to add to the stake, the company said Monday in a statement.
The move was the Persian Gulf carrier’s third announcement of a stake purchase abroad in the past month as it pursues a global expansion program, following agreements to buy 10 percent of Latam Airlines Group SA, South America’s biggest carrier, and 49 percent Meridiana Fly SpA, Italy’s second-largest airline.
“The recent market valuation of one of the world’s leading airline groups has provided what we believe is an attractive opportunity to increase our shareholding in IAG,†Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker said in the statement.
Shares of IAG, which also owns Spanish airline Iberia and Irish carrier Aer Lingus, have dropped 23 percent since the U.K. referendum on June 23 to exit the European Union. The company cut its earnings target for 2016 last week, citing the vote approving a pullout from the bloc.