Qatar finally purchases Canary Wharf as enough Songbird shareholders approve sale
The Qataris have finally got their hands on Canary Wharf, after enough shareholders in current owner Songbird approved the sale.
An estimated 94 per cent of shareholders were in favour of the purchase, according to a statement by Qatar sovereign wealth fund and Canadian property fund manager Brookfield Property Partners, which will jointly own the east London financial district once the transaction goes ahead.
The approval follows a recommendation made by the board Songbird to its shareholders on 30 January, urging them to accept the £2.6bn offer.
The UK investment company had already rejected a number of previous others by Qatar, including one in December for 350p-per-share, which it argued did not reflect "the full value of the business, its unique operating platform and its prospects".
It had said the offer did not reflect the company's net asset value of 381p-per-share, and that it gave no value to "the potential of Canary Wharf Group to earn development profits".