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The
purchase marks another step in the famously-reclusive
billionaire' s strategy to build a property empire through
Pontegadea Inmobiliaria, one of the biggest property companies
in Spain, and his holding company Pontegadea Inversiones.
The source said late on Friday that Pontegadea Inmobiliaria had
bought the tower from Abu Dhabi tycoon Khadem al-Qubaisi, whose
fund had exercised a last-minute purchase option from Spanish
lender Bankia <BKIA.MC>, its previous owner.
Pontegadea Inmobiliaria declined to comment on the reported
purchase of the tower - known as "Cepsa Tower" after the oil
refiner Cepsa <CPF.GQ> that leases it - which along with three
others dominates the skyline of Madrid's northern district.
Ortega has bought properties in London's Mayfair and Oxford
Street, along with other properties in prime locations in New
York, Madrid and Seoul. He rents out much of the space to
Inditex stories like Zara, but also to rivals such as H&M
<HMb.ST>.
Ortega, who turned 80 this year, is the second richest man in
the world with a fortune totaling $72.7 billion, according to
Forbes magazine in July, behind Microsoft Corp <MSFT.O>
co-founder Bill Gates.
Pontegadea Inmobiliaria booked assets of 6.06 billion euros at
the end of 2015, up 8.3 percent from the previous year.
(Reporting by Andres Gonzalez; Writing by Angus Berwick; Editing
by Alexander Smith)
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