Qatar raises stake in Canary Wharf bid

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Qatar raises stake in Canary Wharf bid

LONDON, UK - The Gulf state of Qatar has raised its stake in Morgan Stanley's £1.6 billion Canary Wharf takeover bid.

The oil rich country has piled £42 million onto the table, taking its stake up to £102 million. The move follows Morgan Stanley's decision to raise its recommended bid for the Docklands developer to 275 pence per share.

The group denied that Qatar was merely plugging the gap left by Goldman Sachs's reduced equity stake of 2.6 per cent. The US investment bank was concerned that returns would not be high enough once the bid was raised, so it reduced its stake from 6 per cent.

Canadian rival Brascan, which is offering a lower hostile bid of 270p a share, is to canvas shareholders later this week on its position.

However, Stephane Theuriau, a director of Silvestor, Morgan Stanley's bidding vehicle, told The Times: “Ours is the only offer in the best interests of shareholders.”

Morgan Stanley shareholders are due vote on the issue at an extraordinary general meeting on February 23rd.

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