When Berkshire invests in companies, it’s a seal of approval.
(Photo: AP)
new York Star investor Warren Buffett is visiting Japan – and at the same time expanding his company investments there. As announced on Tuesday, the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway holds 7.4 percent each in the Japanese companies Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Itochu, Sumitomo and Marubeni.
Buffett had invested in five conglomerates three years ago, buying stakes of more than 5 percent each. He had already slightly increased the shares in the past year. Buffett also announced plans to issue more yen bonds. He had also done that three years ago, shortly before joining the Japanese corporations.
The popular investor, who traveled to Asia with his designated successor Greg Abel, could imagine further deals in Japan in the future, as he explained in an interview with the Japanese financial newspaper “Nikkei”. “There are always a few companies I’m thinking about,” says the 92-year-old. He could also imagine financing investments together with the Japanese conglomerates.
The five companies were originally energy and commodity traders. However, over the years they have grown into conglomerates that in turn have stakes in a number of other companies around the world. They pay big dividends, which Buffett likes. But they are still suffering from the consequences of the corona pandemic and the associated bottlenecks in the supply chains.
Nevertheless, the investments were lucrative. In 2020, Berkshire invested a good six billion dollars in the holdings, last year it increased by another 2.4 billion dollars and has now made a book profit of 4.5 billion dollars. This is shown by data from the Bloomberg news agency.
Japanese company share prices rose sharply on Tuesday. Buffett has loyal supporters not only in the US but in many parts of the world. When Berkshire invests in companies, it’s a seal of approval.
Berkshire Hathaway is looking for acquisitions and investments
Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway is itself a conglomerate, which includes an insurance and an energy division, as well as about 80 small and medium-sized companies and a stock package worth more than $300 billion. Cash reserves were $129 billion at the end of 2022. Buffett has been looking for new acquisitions and investments for some time. However, he had kept a low profile during the pandemic.
Berkshire stock, the world’s most expensive, is up about 2 percent this year and started trading Tuesday little changed. It currently costs $477,000.
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