Qatar Airways has revealed it will purchase a 35 percent stake in Europe’s largest all-freight airline, Cargolux.

The Middle Eastern carrier expects the deal to close today, with Qatar Airways acquiring holdings the Luxembourg state bought during the economic crisis.

During the 2008/09 financial crisis, the government of Luxembourg took over Swissair Group’s 33.7 per cent stake in privately held Cargolux.

At the time the move was sold to the electorate as a temporary measure to protect assets after the Swiss airline went into liquidation.

Since then Cargolux has been looking for a long-term investor to take on the stake.

“Qatar Airways have very ambitious growth plans overall, but they also want to become a major player in air cargo so we clearly view them as being a strategic long-term partner,” a Cargolux spokeswoman told Reuters.

The deal is believed to be worth $220-$293.4 million.

Qatar Airways was recognised as the Middle East’s Leading Airline Business Class at the World Travel Awards earlier this year.