Egyptian Family Buys Control of London’s Harrods

Three wealthy Egyptian brothers announced Monday that a major stock-buying spree has given them control of the company that owns London’s famed Harrods department store. Their takeover is still subject to government approval.

In two separate operations, the Fayed brothers spent $138 million to increase their stake in the House of Fraser from 29.9%to 51.03%.

The stock they bought included a 6.3% stake sold by the Lonrho conglomerate, which has waged a six-year fight for Harrods and announced that it is still interested in making a takeover bid.

Lonrho said in a statement to the London Stock Exchange that its directors decided to sell because of the “strong possibility” that the takeover bid by the brothers would be referred to the Monopolies Commission.