LONDON (ACNI) – Two of Britain’s most reputable news sources, the Financial Times and Reuters, are reporting that the oil-rich Arab Gulf nation of Qatar may make a bid for Christie’s auction house.

Today’s Financial Times quotes Emir Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani as saying Qatar is building a museum and that Christie’s “has links with the stuff we are collecting.” Al-Thani stopped short of saying anything formal is already in the works, but he told the London-based Financial Times: “It depends on the opportunity – if we had a good opportunity, we would not hesitate.”

Qatar’s immensely wealthy royal family owns one of the world’s great art collections as well as a stake in Volkswagen AG and Singapore’s Raffles hotel. In May of this year, the Qatari Royal Family, operating under the name of Qatari Holdings, purchased London’s exclusive Harrods department store plus its banking, property and aviation assets for a total of approximately $2.36 billion.

Based in London, Christie’s is owned by French billionaire Francois Pinault’s holding company Artemis S.A., which also owns, or has at one time owned, such companies as Converse shoes, Samsonite luggage, and the Vail Ski Resort in Colorado.

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