Berkshire Hathaway Acquires 5% Stake In Starz

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Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) (NYSE:BRK.B) recently submitted a 13G filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which showed that the conglomerate acquired 5.03 percent stake or  5,622,340 shares of Starz (NASDAQ:STARZA).

Berkshire Hathaway Acquires 5% Stake In Starz

Formerly known as Liberty Media Corp (NASDAQ:LMCA) (NASDAQ:LMCB), Starz (NASDAQ:STARZA) is a global media and entertainment company. Its offers premium subscription video programming services through its flagship pay TV networks, Starz and Encore to various channels video distributors such as cable operators, satellite television providers, and telecommunications companies. Starz and Encore have 21.6 and 35.1 subscribers respectively as of March 31, 2013.

During the first quarter of the current fiscal year, Starz (NASDAQ:STARZA) revenue slightly declined to $399 million as Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) and two distributors did not renew its contract, and affiliation agreements, respectively during the fourth quarter last year because the financial terms were less favorable.

Starz (NASDAQ:STARZA) reported $116.5 million adjusted OIBDA, and $104.9 million operating income. The company ended the quarter with $17.9 million cash and $991.9 million total debt. During the previous quarter, the company has more cash of $748.8 million and lesser debt of $539.8 million. It repurchased 940,400 shares at an average price of $21.51 per share or total of $20.2 million.

In May 14, Starz (NASDAQ:STARZA) announced that the Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) were the latest devices offerings its online authenticated TV everywhere with services including Starz Play, Encore Play and Movie Play. The company’s TV everywhere services offers online monthly access to approximately 1,500 premiere movies, originals and additional TV episodes. The TV everywhere service is also available on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices, as well as smartphones and tablets powered by Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s Android operating system such as the Nexus 4, Nexus 7 and Nexus 10.

The stock price of Starz (NASDAQ:STARZA) surged significantly over the past 52-week range from its lowest level at $9.31 per share to its highest level at $24.58 per share.

Berkshire Hathaway Shares Of Starz

The regulatory filing of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) (NYSE:BRK.B) revealed that its investment manager, Ted Weschler owns 285,834 shares of Starz (NASDAQ:STARZA).

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) (NYSE:BRK.B)’s 13F filing for the first quarter of 2013 showed that it purchased stakes in Liberty Media Corp (NASDAQ:LMCA) (NASDAQ:LMCB) and the Chicago Bridge & Iron Company N.V. (NYSE:CBI). The conglomerate sold out its entire position in Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) and General Dynamics Corp (NYSE:GD).

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