Reuter’s Ben Berkowitz reported this evening that Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) (NYSE:BRK.B) would be open to an acquisition worth in the region of $10 billion going forward. The company is holding its annual meeting today. The report is sourced from an exclusive meeting between the Reuters correspondent and Berkshire’s CEO Warren Buffett.
An earlier discussion at the conference revealed that the famous investors had recently failed in making a $22 billion acquisition. The details of that deal were not disclosed but it certainly demonstrates the CEO’s ambition and ability in what many investors worry may be his declining years.
Buffett was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer and his prognosis has been a central feature of the conference. Investors are worried that the man who has led the company to such heights may be forced to vacate his position at the top of the firm. Speculation is circulating about who will succeed him though a vote to make those plans open to investors was resoundingly denied by shareholders.
Buffett has assured investors that his cancer diagnosis was a “non event” and he is in perfect health. Attendants at the meeting seemed encouraged by his virility and his openness about his illness. Buffett was seen testing products made by companies invested in by Berkshire. He will undergo radiation treatments for the illness in July.
The news about his ambitions in acquisitions will be another boon to confidence in the executive. A $10 billion deal is no small thing, even to Berkshire Hathaway. Warren Buffett is still open for business and his attempt to make a deal worth $22 billion happen show it.
