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January 25 - Kraft bids on cadbury warren buffet feels poor
Kraft (NYSE: KFT - News) doesn't need Warren Buffett's blessing to buy Cadbury (NYSE: CBY - News), but that won't stop him from badmouthing the deal.
The Oracle of Omaha isn't a fan of Kraft's $19.6 billion bid for Cadbury, and he shared his pessimism with CNBC this morning. Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A - News, BRK-B - News) owns 9% of the suitor's shares, but since Kraft is issuing less than 20% of those currently outstanding to finance the deal, no voting is required outside the boardroom.
Buffett told CNBC he "feels poor" given the buyout's terms, but Sanford C. Bernstein analyst Andrew Wood told Reuters Kraft is getting a great deal. "We consider that this is a bargain," Wood explained, noting that Cadbury is being had for "the lowest multiple of any major M&A deal in the global food space in well over a decade." In any case, Buffett would be a little richer this morning had he not commented, as his remarks weigh on Kraft shares in the pre-market.
A look at Berkshire's end-of-Q3 U.S. equity portfolio shows that Kraft is among Buffett's largest bets. Another top pick, railroad Burlington Northern Santa Fe (NYSE: BNI - News) is causing more merger drama after Buffett announced plans to buy the rest of the company in November.
Buffett plans to split Berkshire's "B" shares 50 to 1 in order to pay off Burlington Northern's shareholders. Of course "cheaper" shares mean nothing in terms of the company's market cap, but pundits are talking up the story as it opens the door to day-traders and other small-time investors.
It will be interesting to see what is in store for Berkshire's financial portfolio. Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC - News), Bank of America (NYSE: BAC - News), US Bancorp (NYSE: USB - News), and preferred shares of Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS - News) were all among top positions at the end of Q3.
Investors won't be sure of where Buffett stands until next month, when the deadline for Q4 filings hits. At tickerspy.com, members can track Berkshire's latest holdings, see a graph of their combined performance, and be notified when new holdings are made public.
Pro portfolio performance is based on institutions' top-15 holdings as disclosed in quarter-end filings with the SEC. Pro performance does not take into account additional holdings beyond the top 15 nor does it include positions that are not required to be disclosed by the SEC. As such, Pro portfolio performance should be considered an approximation and not a precise record of how an institution has performed over time.
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