Buffett may opt for minority stakes in European family firms
Billionaire Warren Buffett, halfway through a four-day European tour to drum up potential acquisition targets, is willing to consider minority investments in the right family owned businesses.
"He's not only looking for 100 percent acquisitions, he's also looking at 5, 20, 30 percent of the company," said Uto Baader, chairman of brokerage Baader Wertpapierhandelsbank AG, after attending an invitation-only meeting with Buffett in Frankfurt on Monday.
Buffett, whom Forbes magazine ranks as the world's richest person, yesterday met in Madrid with owners of closely held businesses and wraps up his trip today in Milan as he looks to keep expanding his $200 billion Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Buffett was in Lausanne, Switzerland on Tuesday.
He's been looking for places to put Berkshire's $35 billion in cash, investing in China, Israel and the United Kingdom, because he says there's a dearth of US investment opportunities for a company as large as Berkshire. Candidates should have at least $75 million in pretax earnings, and there's no maximum size, Buffett told reporters earlier this week.
Buffett, 77, owns about a third of Berkshire, which he built over four decades from a failing maker of men's suit linings into a holding company with businesses that range from candy-making to insurance. The company earned $13.2 billion last year and has a $72.6 billion stock portfolio.
The Berkshire chairman is known for buying well-run, privately owned companies with iconic brands or other high barriers to would-be rivals.
Unlike private equity firms, Buffett, who says he buys "for life", doesn't load up the acquisition with debt and doesn't meddle in management. In exchange, he typically pays less than companies could receive in an auction.
Agencies
(China Daily 05/22/2008 page16)
