Lubrizol, the chemical-additives business at Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK/A), agreed to buy two units from Weatherford International Plc for at least $750 million after the seller was squeezed by lower oil prices. The deal includes the Integrity Industries drilling-fluids business and Engineered Chemistry, which provides additives used in fracking. The price can climb to $825 million depending on performance, Geneva-based Weatherford said today in a statement.
Duracell To be Part of Berkshire’s Marmon and Get New Chief (WSJ MoneyBeat)
Duracell will get a Berkshire Hathaway Inc. executive as its new boss once current owner Procter & Gamble Co. closes the sale to Warren Buffett’s company. The executive, Angelo Pantaleo, currently works at Berkshire subsidiary Marmon Group, helping run its water business. Instead of becoming a full-fledged company at Berkshire, Duracell will be overseen by Marmon, people familiar with the matter said.
Berkshire's BNSF To Continue Ramping Up Investment (Investors Business Daily)
Berkshire Hathaway's BNSF Railway plans to spend $6 billion in 2015 to upgrade and expand its facilities to meet rising demand for rail transportation services. It would be a 9% increase for the Fort Worth, Texas-based company from its planned $5.5 billion capital spending this year. The bulk of the 2015 expenditures will go to replacing and upgrading rails, ties and other track components, the company said. BNSF, which operates 32,500 route miles of track in the U.S. and Canada, will also spend nearly $1.5 billion on expansion projects, including $500 million in the Northern region, where it's growing fastest.
AUC approves Altalink sale (Calgary Herald)
The Alberta Utilities Commission approved the $3.2-billion sale of electricity transmission firm Altalink to U.S. billionaire Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Energy on Friday after it determined the transaction would create “no harm” for customer power rates or service. The AUC said it will continue to regulate AltaLink as it did before the change in ownership. [...] Over the next five years, Berkshire Hathaway Energy must re-invest 100 per cent of AltaLink’s earnings into the company or elsewhere in Alberta to support AltaLink’s three-year, $2.7-billion investment in Alberta’s energy infrastructure.
The Surprising Lessons Warren Buffett Learned from a Candy Company (Fool)
So what has made See's so successful? First, although it hasn't been a world-beater in growing its sales, it has been incredibly profitable and a cash-generating machine. From 1972-2011 it contributed a staggering $1.65 billion to the bottom line of Berkshire. Knowing it brings in roughly $85 million annually in pre-tax profits, there will soon come a day when the total contribution of See's to Berkshire will top $2 billion. And what has Berkshire done with all that cash? In 2007 Buffett answered that very question by revealing, "After paying corporate taxes on the profits, we have used the rest to buy other attractive businesses."
Berkshire Hathaway Energy: Economies of scale (WindPower)
Berkshire Hathaway Energy, part of billionaire Warren Buffet's empire, is one of America's largest developer and owner of wind energy. It has already committed about $15 billion to renewables, dwarfing most rivals' investments, and recently said it will invest $280 million more in Iowa wind farms. [...] With 719,000 customers in Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska and South Dakota, MidAmerican owns more wind capacity than any other rate-regulated utility in the US and has been instrumental in making Iowa the state with the highest proportion of wind on its grid. [...] When Wind VIII is complete, 3.35GW or about 39% of MidAmerican Energy's total owned generation capacity will come from the company's 1,715 wind turbines.
Warren Buffett’s favourite ice-cream chain Dairy Queen comes to the UAE (The National)
Berkshire Hathaway-owned Dairy Queen is coming to the UAE. The restaurant chain [...] has signed a franchise deal with Bajco Group to open as many as 20 outlets. The agreement covers DQ Grill & Chill restaurants and DQ Treat stores. The first outlet is due to open in the first quarter of next year, although the exact location is still to be decided. “The problem is that everybody wants to be in Dubai, which means locations are very hard to guarantee,” said Malik Bajwa, president of the Bajco Group. “We will likely open in the Northern Emirates such as Ras Al Khaimah, and we are also looking at Sharjah and Al Ain. Our flagship standalone store will most likely be in Dubai [...]”
Why Is Warren Buffett Obsessed With Consumer Goods Brands? (Bidness Etc)
Mr. Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. has always opted to invest in companies with simple business models, as Warren Buffett firmly believes in them. Many of these companies are famous brands of consumer goods like ketchup, batteries, vehicle insurance, or fast food restaurants. Mr. Buffett’s interest in the consumer goods brands can be attributed to the fact that such brands have recurrent and foreseeable cash flows and earnings, with low risk associated to their business models.
Very busy Buffett makes time for Ndamukong Suh (Omaha World Herald)
Warren Buffett’s friendship with athlete Ndamukong Suh started when they were introduced to each other at a Nebraska football game by Tom Osborne, former head coach and athletic director. Since then, Buffett has become a regular financial adviser for Suh, part of a group that includes former TD Ameritrade CEO Joe Moglia, now a football coach, and athlete/businessmen Magic Johnson and Roger Staubach [...]
Warren Buffett On Investment Strategy - Full Interview Fortune MPW (YouTube)
The annual Fortune MPW interview with the world’s most successful investor - Warren Buffett, Chairman and CEO, Berkshire Hathaway. [38 minutes]
Or, if you don't have time for that video, here's this one...
Warren Buffett sings Sinatra to 400 women (YouTube)
Paul Anka and Warren Buffett give Carol Loomis a musical sendoff at Fortune’s Most Powerful Women summit. [5 1/2 minutes]
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