Katara purchased the 70 per cent majority stake held by Sahara India Pariwar and the 25 per cent stake held New York real-estate investor Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp. and its partner Saudi Prince al-Waleed Bin Talal.

Over the last decade, Qatar has made a name for itself investing in Western luxury properties and hotels, as part of an initiative to diversify the nation's accumulated wealth (traditionally funded through gas and oil).  

As the world's largest exporter of liquefied natural gas, Qatar is also the owner of several other luxury hotels including The Savoy and The Connaught in London. 

Qatar's wealth fund, Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) also holds investments in Volkswagon and mining giant Glencore. 

In recent months, the economic sanctions held against Qatar have been mitigated and the Plaza Hotel deal marks the largest investment in the Western property market by Qatar since the start of the block.

Located in on the southeast corner of Central Park the Manhattan midtown icon has been under ownership by Conrad Hilton and Donald Trump. The Plaza's impressive film career ranging from Alfred Hitchcock's North By Northwest to Home Alone 2 have made the building arguably the world's most recognised hotels.

See also:

Westin Hotel Adelaide GPO redevelopment

Auckland Britomart Hotel to be managed by TFE Hotels

$120m Little National Hotel Sydney Wynyard Station approved for Doma Group

Source: Reuters