WSJ UPDATE: Qatar Holding Buys Over 1% Of Luxury Group LVMH

Sovereign wealth fund Qatar Holding has amassed a stake of slightly more than 1% in French luxury goods group LVMH Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (MC.FR), the latest in a series of investments in France by the gas-rich emirate.

Qatar Holding holds a 1.03% interest in the company and has less than 1% of voting rights in LVMH, the French company said in a legal filing Thursday. Based on LVMH's share price of EUR135 at the close on the Paris bourse Thursday, the stake is worth around EUR699 million. Qatar Holding declined to comment.

Qatar has been on a buying spree in France in recent months, pocketing an array of assets, from the highly publicized purchase of soccer team Paris Saint-Germain to stakes in flagship companies in heavy industry and the media.

State-owned Qatari funds have made their presence felt, buying into 10% of French media company Lagardere SCA and 5.6% of construction giant Vinci SA. The most recent of the tiny emirate's purchases was a 2% stake in oil group Total SA, accumulated over several months, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The acquisition of a stake in LVMH is not Qatar's first foray into the luxury sector. The wife of the Qatari emir bought a controlling stake in French handbag maker Le Tanneur & Cie in May last year. In addition, the Persian Gulf state has participation in London department store Harrods.

LVMH is controlled by company Chief Executive Bernard Arnault and his family. The family owns 46% of the company, and 62% of voting rights.

As of late 2011, Qatar Holding's investment in LVMH made it the sixth-largest shareholder after the Arnault family, Paolo and Nicola Bulgari, Amundi group and MFS group.

Since the beginning of 2011, LVMH stock has risen 9.7%, outperforming the French CAC-40 benchmark index, which has fallen 5.9%.

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