Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund bought 5 percent of Xstrata Plc (XTA) for 1.7 billion pounds ($2.7 billion) and is likely to give crucial support to the mining company’s planned merger with Glencore International Plc (GLEN), the Daily Telegraph reported.

The purchase makes Qatar Xstrata’s third-biggest shareholder after Glencore, with 33.6 percent, and Blackrock Inc. (BLK) with 5.4 percent, the newspaper said.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Alan Purkiss at apurkiss@bloomberg.net