According to Bloomberg Warren Buffett’s plan to remove Wesco Financial Corp. (WSC) from the stock exchange will close what was considered a “backdoor” to investing alongside the billionaire.
Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. has agreed to acquire the 20 percent of Wesco it doesn’t already own for about $545 million in cash and stock. Wesco shareholders will vote on the deal today at a meeting in Pasadena, California.
Buffett took control of Wesco in 1983 and assigned oversight of the firm to Berkshire Vice Chairman Charles Munger, who is now 87. Wesco retreated from its traditional business of lending and focused on insurance, furniture rental and steel storage. The firm also profited from deals Buffett struck for Berkshire. Investors that couldn’t afford the $11,750 price of a Berkshire share in 1992, could buy Wesco stock for $83 each.
“The only reason it’s been public for all these years is Charlie and Warren are so cheap that they didn’t want to pay a big premium to buy Wesco,…”
There's more where that came from. Find out at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-24/buffett-closes-backdoor-to-berkshire-investing-with-wesco-financial-deal.html
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