Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. agreed to pay $2.05 billion to purchase the remaining piece of an Israeli metalworking company that it had acquired a stake in seven years ago. Berkshire is buying the remaining 20% stake in IMC International Metalworking Companies, called Iscar, from the Wertheimer family, the founders of the firm. They had sold the first 80% to Berkshire for $4 billion in 2006, meaning the company doubled in value since the initial transaction.
Heinz shareholders approve acquisition by 3G, Berkshire (Washington Post)
Heinz is one step closer to going private. The Pittsburgh-based ketchup maker said Tuesday that shareholders overwhelmingly approved its acquisition by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway and 3G Capital, the investment firm that also owns Burger King.
Heinz Wins Ruling Tossing Investor Suits Over Berkshire Buyout (Bloomberg Businessweek)
HJ Heinz Co. won a judge’s ruling throwing out lawsuits brought by investors seeking to block the $23 billion buyout of the company by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and Jorge Paulo Lemann’s 3G Capital. The decision by Pennsylvania state court judge Christine Ward clears the way for a shareholder vote today on the purchase. Nine shareholder lawsuits had been filed before Ward challenging the proposed merger. Three complaints filed in federal court were voluntarily dismissed earlier this month.
New Heinz owners to focus on cutting $14B in debt (Tribune Live)
The $28 billion acquisition of H.J. Heinz Co. is expected to lead to further international growth of the iconic Pittsburgh food company in the long term. But in the short term, a near tripling of the condiment-maker's debt by the buyers, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway and Brazilian investment firm 3G Capital, could result in aggressive cost-cutting, analysts said.
AP Twitter hack is lesson on risk of social media, Berkshire’s Tamraz says (Washington Post)
The hacking attack that caused the Associated Press to send an erroneous Twitter post shows the risk of social media, said Cathy Baron Tamraz, chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s Business Wire. The false information about explosions at the White House, which sent markets down 1 percent in a matter of seconds, is an “object lesson” in why social media aren’t a substitute for press releases, Tamraz said today in a phone interview.
Buffett Trucking Unit Joins Wirtz in Missouri Wine Wager (Bloomberg)
Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s McLane trucking unit, a supplier to retailers and restaurants, formed a venture with closely held Wirtz Corp. to take a stake in a wine, spirit and beer distributor. The deal to invest in Missouri Beverage Co. is expected to be completed next month, according to a statement yesterday from the companies that didn’t disclose terms. The agreement brings together McLane’s logistics expertise and Wirtz’s experience in the U.S. Midwest, Wirtz President W. Rockwell “Rocky” Wirtz said. [...]
The deal fulfills part of a projection by Berkshire Chairman Warren Buffett last year that the trucking unit would build its business. McLane Chief Executive Officer Grady Rosier bought two alcoholic-beverage wholesale distributors in 2010 and last year acquired Meadowbrook Meat Co., a North Carolina-based business that supplies national restaurant chains.
Israeli Billionaire Opens Industrial Park in Nazareth (Bloomberg)
Wertheimer is now only "Honorary Chairman Emeritus" of Iscar; his son is now the Chairman.
Israeli billionaire Stef Wertheimer, founder of the Warren Buffett-owned Iscar Metalworking Cos., opened an industrial park in Nazareth today that intends to provide manufacturing jobs for local Arab residents. The park’s aim “is to use the skills of the people of Nazareth and surrounding area,” to create export-oriented products, Wertheimer said. Unemployment and poverty rates for Israeli Arabs, who comprise about 20 percent of the country’s population, are higher than for the Jewish majority. [...]
Wertheimer, whose machine-cutting tools company Iscar was bought by Buffett’s Berkshire-Hathaway Inc. for $4 billion in 2006, operates five other industrial parks in Israel’s outlying Galilee and Negev regions that have attracted export-focused manufacturers. He also established an industrial park that opened in Gebze, Turkey in 2003.
Being Green: A GEICO associate on what it's like to be the Gecko (Geico Now)
Jim Parshall is a GEICO senior systems security analyst. He's also a Gecko. "I am an overgrown kid at heart (my cell phone case has Winnie the Pooh on it)," says Parshall, who has made over 100 appearances in costume as GEICO's green spokes-reptile. GEICO Now asked Jim Parshall how someone gets to be the Gecko, and how it really feels to be green.
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