Qatari Diar keeps Monte Carlo casino bid on hold

ADMISSION RULES: The Board of the company that owns the Monte Carlo Casino (pictured) is blocking the Qatari bid. (Getty Images)

Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Co, which sought to increase its stake in casino operator Societe des Bains de Mer et du Cercle des Etrangers a Monaco, said yesterday that it was putting the bid on hold, the Qatar daily Gulf Times reported on Saturday.

The Qatar Investment Authority unit on July 6 offered to buy all shares not controlled by the Principality of Monaco for 725 euros ($1,128) a share. On July 21, representatives of Societe des Bains de Mer's board said Qatari Diar would be allowed to own only as much as 10 percent of the company, the paper said.

In a statement on Friday quoted by the Gulf Times, the Qatar fund said it will proceed with the planned offer only if it can buy as much as 30.4 perrcent of the company.

Qatari Diar won't file its bid under current circumstances, although the offer remains valid, the Qatar Investment Authority unit said in the e-mailed statement.

"Should the board's position become favourable," Qatari Diar would be "ready to reactivate a project that it had to stop", the statement said.

The offer values the Monaco-based casino operator at about 1.3 billion euros. Qatari Diar owns 2.45 percent, according to the July 6 statement.

Qatari Diar doesn't want to alter Societe des Bains de Mer's strategy, yet it wants to be able to "influence" its decisions, Ghanim bin Saad Al-Saad, Qatari Diar director general, had told Les Echos newspaper earlier.

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