Editor’s Note: Related tickers: Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A), H.J. Heinz Company (NYSE:HNZ), The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)
Fair trade regulator CCI has approved Warren Buffett-led Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) and 3G Fund’s proposed acquisition of American food company H.J. Heinz Company (NYSE:HNZ), saying the transaction would not have any adverse impact on competition in India. Diversified global group Berkshire Hathaway and 3G Special Situations Fund III LP had filed a notice with the Competition Commission of India (CCI) seeking approval for their proposed buyout of Heinz. Approving the deal, CCI in an order dated April 4 said it is “of the opinion that the proposed combination is not likely to have an appreciable adverse effect on competition in India”.
Warren Buffett shares his wisdom (RoyalGazette)
Regular readers of this column know that I am a big fan of Warren Buffett. As a shareholder of Berkshire Hathaway, I am always pleased to get my copy of the annual report. Inside I know I’ll find Buffett’s letter to the shareholders which always contains gems of advice. This year didn’t disappoint. The following are some of his selected quotes with my comments: Warren is still bullish on America and has chosen to ignore the recent flurry of negative news.
Coca-Cola’s Valuation, Warren Buffett’s 1988 Purchase (Nasdaq)
For years, I, like many value investors, have wondered how Warren Buffett valued The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) stock at such a deep bargain in 1988. In 1988, the Coca-Cola Company was refocusing on its core business. Its Columbia Pictures subsidiary was sold in 1987. The “New Coke” fiasco of 1985 was fixed and the company was aggressively repurchasing common stock. This write-up is my basic quantitative estimation of the value of Coca-Cola’s intrinsic value per share in 1988.
The 1 Biotech Stock Warren Buffett Should Buy (Fool)
The biotechnology sector can be a land of immense spoils and incredible heartbreak. It’s not uncommon to see small and midsized biotech companies swing wildly in each direction because of clinical trial data or a decision by the Food and Drug Administration. …Conversely, my Foolish cohort Brian Orelli last week presented his three reasons a long-term buy-and-hold investor like Warren Buffett would never buy a biotech company. Brian noted that Buffett’s unwillingness to follow a biotech’s upcoming pipeline, biotechs’ wild valuation fluctuations, and their often small size, would make them unlikely candidates to grace Berkshire Hathaway’s (NYSE: BRK-B ) portfolio, which is usually looking for heavy hitters to help “move the needle,” as Brian put it.
Heinz deal not signal of binge buying (Omaha)
Berkshire Hathaway’s coming purchase of Heinz Co. doesn’t necessarily mean a merger-and-acquisition binge is under way, Abram Brown wrote in Forbes magazine. Thomson Reuters counted a 16 percent decline in the number of announced deals, to 8,100 in the first quarter, the lowest number in nearly a decade. Even so, several big-dollar deals pushed the total value to $540 billion, up from $490 billion a year earlier. You can’t call a trend just from the decision by Berkshire Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett to take part in the $28 billion Heinz purchase, Brown wrote.
Fed Tactics Challenge Investors Like Warren Buffett (LiveTradingNews)
Bill Gross, manager of the world’s largest bond fund, said that the US Federal Reserve’s aggressive monetary policies changed the landscape so greatly that investors like he and Warren Buffett face new challenges to maintain their track records. Mr. Gross, who oversees the $288-B Pimco Total Return Fund and is co-CIO of its parent company, Pacific Investment Management Co., said the aggressive monetary policies of the Fed as well as other longer-term structural shifts in demographics, geopolitics, and/or commodity supplies could make life harder for investors.
