By Una Galani /London


“Qatar has a sizeable interest in shoring up relations with Europe, as it seeks to become the region’s preferred provider of gas. Propping up the banking sector is one way of showing it can be relied on when it counts
Qatar’s Greek bailout could pay strategic dividends too. The decision by one of the Gulf state’s many investment vehicles to inject €500mn into the newly formed combination of Eurobank EFG and Alpha Bank, via a mandatory convertible bond, came as a surprise. But the investment looks characteristically opportune, and Qatar’s support for troubled banks in the eurozone may not end there.
Paramount is relatively unknown—simply described as representing the interests of Qatar. It looks like just another one of the many entities used by the country to channel its investments. Qatar’s stake in British bank Barclays, for example, was split between a special purpose vehicle called Challenger, owned by Qatar Holding, a subsidiary of the country’s main sovereign fund which has a broad mandate to diversify the economy.
The deal will help Paramount lower the cost of its existing 4% stake in Alpha Bank bought in 2008 for around €18 per share or €296mn—the lender’s shares now trade at around €2.5. Qatar expects to get an annual 10% coupon from the new lender until its three-year instrument converts at €1.70 per share—a 20% discount to the pro-forma market price at the time of the deal.
Distressed Western banks once again look like attractive territory for wealthy sovereign investors that can afford to make investments with a long-term view. The European bank sector trades on price-to-tangible net asset value of around 0.8 times for 2011 and, according to Citi, suggest a slowdown in future earnings beyond that of the bank’s own forecasts or a normal economic recession.
Of course, Qatar’s decision makers may also have other objectives in mind. In the last year alone, the emirate signed non-binding agreements to invest over $12bn into the Greek economy, across a range of sectors including energy, banks, real estate and tourism. Whether Qatar also invested in heavily discounted Greek sovereign debt remains unknown.
Qatar has a sizeable interest in shoring up relations with Europe, as it seeks to become the region’s preferred provider of gas. Propping up the banking sector is one way of showing it can be relied on when it counts.
Context News
* Qatar’s little-known Paramount Services Holding has agreed to purchase €500mn of mandatory convertible notes issued following an agreed merger of Greek lenders Alpha Bank and EFG Eurobank.
* The convertible is expected to have a three year maturity, pay an annual coupon of 10%, and convert at a price of €1.70 per share—equivalent to a 20% discount to the pro-forma share price as of August 26.
* Paramount, which already owns 4% of Alpha and is described as representing the interests of Qatar, will effectively own around 17% of the lender after the deal.
* Last September, Qatar signed a memorandum of understanding concerning potential investments totalling up to $5bn in the Greek economy across sectors ranging from banking to energy and real estate.
(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews
columnist. The opinions expressed are her own)