Qatar divests significant Sainsbury's stake

The State of Qatar is active in the stock market and is divesting a stake worth 306 million pounds in the British supermarket chain Sainsbury's. The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), backed by Qatar's royal family, is offering around 110 million shares at 280 pence each. The investment giant Goldman Sachs is overseeing the sales process. Qatar is the largest shareholder of Sainsbury's, with a 14.2 percent stake. The planned stock sale will reduce this holding by about 5 percentage points. This news caused considerable unrest among investors, and Sainsbury's shares dropped by more than 5 percent on Friday morning to 272 pence—below the price offered by Qatar. The timing of the sale coincides with growth expectations related to potential tax increases in the upcoming budget. The Financial Times reported that stock market activities are turbulent as investors review their finances in light of new tax regulations. Executives of major British companies have sold shares worth more than one billion pounds since the announcement of new elections, while British shares worth 666 million pounds were sold off in September. Despite these market dynamics, some analysts expressed doubts that QIA's decision was motivated by forthcoming events. Analysts from JP Morgan Cazenove emphasized the strategic nature of this owner and saw no direct connection with short-term developments. Qatar appeared as a Sainsbury's shareholder in 2007 and has been gradually reducing its stake since 2021. The Qatari sovereign wealth fund was established in 2005 to minimize dependency on oil and gas investments and currently has assets estimated at 526 billion dollars.