Berkshire News Briefs - 7/14/16

Berkshire applies to boost Wells Fargo stake above 10 percent (Business Insider)

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc has applied to increase its ownership stake in Wells Fargo & Co above 10 percent, the Federal Reserve said on its website on Friday.

Boosting the stake above 10 percent could mean increased federal scrutiny over the investment. [...]

CEOs relish 'unique' benefits of being a Buffett-owned business, despite some downsides (Omaha World Herald)

Donegan, during a visit to Omaha this spring for the annual meeting of Berkshire shareholders, estimated that since he became a Berkshire CEO, he can devote 15 percent more of his days to actually running Precision Castparts.

That’s a substantial gain in perhaps the most valuable of economic commodities — time — and an example of how business life inside Berkshire is different from business life outside. [...]

Billionaire Warren Buffett doing energy pilot program in Hawaii (Pacific Business News)

Warren Buffett’s energy company has started doing a pilot program for a residential property manager in Hawaii, a spokeswoman for one of his companies confirmed to Pacific Business News this week.

Iowa-based MidAmerican Energy Services LLC, a Berkshire Hathaway Energy company which was recently registered as a new business in Hawaii, is doing an energy management pilot that uses a technology platform to help clients manage the performance of the heating, ventilation, air conditioning and electric water heater systems at their property sites.[...]

Buffett may be interested in buying Hawaiian Electric Co. if Florida-based NextEra Energy Inc.’s proposed $4.3 billion deal to purchase the Honolulu utility falls through. A decision by Hawaii regulators on the NextEra-HECO sale is expected to come soon.

Precision Castparts neighbors sue, demand company to stop polluting (Oregon Live)

Four Southeast Portland residents who say their homes have been smothered with heavy metals and other pollution by a nearby Precision Castparts manufacturing plant are asking a judge to order the parts maker to stop polluting.

In a suit filed last week, the residents also are asking a Multnomah County Circuit judge to force Precision Castparts to clean up millions of pounds of nickel, chromium, arsenic and other toxic pollutants that they say have settled upon their neighborhoods and increased their chances of cancer and other health problems -- and even put children at risk of lower IQs. [...]

Gen Re Seeks to Add Brokerage Business Through Hookup with TransRe (Insurance Journal)

General Re, the unit of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. that appointed a new chief executive officer in May, struck a deal with a rival reinsurer to help revive sales.

Alleghany Corp.’s TransRe will share revenue and risks on property/casualty reinsurance business that it underwrites through brokers and intermediaries for the next five years, the companies said Tuesday in a statement. The partnership gives TransRe, with the backing of Gen Re, the ability to take on twice as much risk for clients, the Alleghany unit said in a separate document listing facts about the deal.

Gen Re CEO Kara Raiguel is seeking new sources of premium revenue after being named to take over for Franklin “Tad” Montross. [...]

Buffett's Brooks branches out to attract gym generation (Channel NewsAsia)

Brooks, the running brand owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc, believes that the U.S. marathon boom has peaked and it is looking to broaden its appeal to a younger gym generation.

Founded in 1914, the Seattle-based firm was close to bankruptcy when Jim Weber took over as chief executive in 2001. Weber decided to concentrate solely on running, a strategy Buffett bought into when he acquired the brand in 2006.

Brooks is now the market leader in the U.S. specialty running shoe market with a 29 percent share. It had total sales in 2014 of US$548 million, still only a fraction of overall leader Nike's sales of US$32 billion in the year to May 31. [...]

Berkshire Hathaway Said to Be Among Leading Oncor Bidders (Bloomberg)

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. submitted a bid for Energy Future Holdings Corp.’s Oncor Electric Delivery Co., people familiar with the talks said, joining NextEra Energy Inc. as a top contender to buy Texas’ biggest transmission operator.

Energy Future is mulling offers that value Oncor at about $18 billion, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. The process is fluid and the leading bidders have switched places several times, the people said. [...]

25 Years of Learning and Laughter (Gates Notes)

I don’t remember the exact day I first met most of my friends, but with Warren Buffett I do. It was 25 years ago today: July 5, 1991.

I think the date stands out in my mind so clearly because it marked the beginning of a new and unexpected friendship for Melinda and me—one that has changed our lives for the better in every imaginable way.

Warren has helped us do two things that are impossible to overdo in one lifetime: learn more and laugh more. [...]