A consortium of Qatari and Bahraini firms has bought Qatar Engineering & Construction Company (Q-Con) from Qatar Shipping Company.

The four groups that acquired Q-Con are Qatar First Investment Bank and Qatar’s The First Investor which will both hold 41 per cent stakes in the company along with Qatar America Asia Consortium and the Bahrain-based Unicorn Investment Bank.

Q-Con, an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor, was established in 1975 and has been owned by Qatar Shipping since 2006.

Qatar Shipping is listed on the Doha Securities Market. Qatar Petroleum holds an 18 per cent stake in the company, Qatar Navigation has 15 per cent, individual investors own 40 per cent of the firm, and other businesses own 27 per cent.

In February 2009, Q-Con bid for a service contract on the UK/Dutch Shell Group’s $16bn-plus Pearl gas-to-liquids (GTL) facility at Ras Laffan.