PARIS — Qatar Airways said on Friday that it had acquired a 9.99 percent stake in the International Airlines Group, the parent company of British Airways and Iberia of Spain, deepening an existing commercial partnership with the group and further extending the emirate's push into Europe.

Qatar Airways, based in Doha, said it had no immediate plans to increase its holding, which is valued at roughly 1.1 billion pounds, or about $1.7 billion, and makes the carrier the largest individual shareholder of the International Airlines Group.

The airline, which is the second largest of the three big Persian Gulf carriers by number of passengers after Emirates of Dubai, said it would consider taking a larger stake in the International Airlines Group “over time.” European Union rules cap ownership by foreign investors in airlines registered in the bloc at 49 percent.

Akbar al-Baker, the chief executive of Qatar Airways, has long made known his interest in a possible investment in a European passenger airline, particularly as the carrier's smaller Gulf rival, Etihad Airways of Abu Dhabi, has purchased sizable minority stakes in several European airlines in recent years. Etihad holds a roughly one-third stake in Air Berlin of Germany and a 49 percent stake in Alitalia, the struggling Italian airline.