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Kraft Heinz

Kraft Heinz’s Sale of Baby Food Business in Russia to Local Company Estimated at $32.4-$38.9 Million

Berkshire Hathaway’s Kraft Heinz, the US food giant, has announced that it will be selling its baby food business in Russia to local snacks and drinks manufacturer Chernogolovka, according to Reuters.

Kraft Heinz’s sale of its baby food business in Russia is estimated to be valued between 2.5 and 3 billion roubles ($32.4-$38.9 million), according to sources cited by Russia’s Kommersant newspaper on Thursday.

However, the government is yet to approve the valuation, and deals in Russia require approval from a government commission that monitors foreign investment.

This week, the commission announced that foreign investors from “unfriendly” countries selling assets in Russia would be required to donate at least 10% of the sale price to the Russian budget. It remains to be seen how this may impact the valuation and the sale itself.

This move comes as Western companies continue to exit the Russian market, allowing local firms like Chernogolovka to expand their market share and become more self-sufficient. As the Russian government tightens its regulations on foreign investment, it is becoming increasingly challenging for international companies to operate in the country.

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Lessons From Warren Buffett

Lessons From Warren Buffett: The Danger That Tempts the Wonderful Business

The biblical tale of Adam and Eve illustrates how yielding to temptation caused their expulsion from paradise into a more challenging existence. Warren Buffett observes a comparable temptation for thriving businesses that have discovered a prosperous niche, yet strive for additional opportunities.

“I pointed out the danger of having a wonderful business is the temptation to go into less wonderful businesses,” Buffett said at the 2000 Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting. “And it’s a risk I pointed out that when a company with a wonderful business gets into a mediocre business that usually the reputation of the mediocre business prevails over the supposed invincibility of the management of the wonderful business.”

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© 2023 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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Lessons From Warren Buffett

Lessons From Warren Buffett: We Think About What Can Go Wrong With Businesses

When Warren Buffett purchases a stock or an entire business, he doesn’t just consider its positive attributes. Instead, one of the most important mental exercises he undertakes is to identify potential threats that could harm or even destroy the business.

“When we look at businesses, we try to think of what can go wrong with them. We try to look [for] businesses that are good businesses now, and we think about what can go wrong with them,” Buffett said at the 2000 Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting. “If we can think of very much that can go wrong with them, we just forget it. We are not in the business of assuming a lot of risk in businesses. That doesn’t mean we don’t do it inadvertently and make mistakes, because we do. But we don’t intentionally, or willingly, voluntarily, go into situations where we perceive really significant risk that the business is going to change in a major way.”

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© 2023 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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Nebraska Furniture Mart

Berkshire’s Austin Development Receives Zoning Approval

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

Berkshire Hathaway’s Nebraska Furniture Mart has won key zoning approval for its new Austin development. NFM is set to build a retail, hotel, and convention center in Cedar Park, a town located 16 miles north-west of Austin.

The Cedar Park City Council unanimously approved the rezoning of the 118-acre parcel, with construction anticipated to begin in 2024.

The development will comprise a 250-room hotel with a 30,000-square-foot convention center, 250,000 square feet of commercial space, a 500,000-square-foot NFM store, and a 700,000-square-foot warehouse servicing NFM.

The city of Cedar Park has offered $45 million in performance-based rebates if Berkshire invests $400 million and creates 725 jobs in the first year of operation. NFM’s CEO Tony Bolt chose Cedar Park after searching for a second Texas location, and it will complement NFM’s Grandscape development in Dallas-Fort Worth.

© 2023 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell a stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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Minority Stock Positions

Berkshire Hathaway Occidental Petroleum Stake Reaches 23.6 Percent

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

A dip in the price of Occidental Petroleum saw Warren Buffett adding more purchases of OXY shares on March 23 and 27.

In its latest Form 4 filing, Berkshire purchased 3,666,714 shares of OXY stock at prices ranging from $58.2862 to $59.6262 per share.

After these purchases, Berkshire holds 211,707,119 shares of OXY common stock, and raises Berkshire’s stake to 23.6 percent.

Berkshire also holds 100,000 series A preferred stock shares with an 8% dividend and warrants that Berkshire can exercise for roughly 84M shares of common stock at $59.624 per share.

© 2023 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell a stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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BYD

BYD Partners With NVIDIA for Mainstream Software-Defined Vehicles

Berkshire Hathaway-backed BYD, the world’s leading manufacturer of new energy vehicles, has announced an expansion of its partnership with NVIDIA. The partnership will see BYD extend the use of the NVIDIA DRIVE Orin centralized compute platform to a broader range of its new energy vehicles (NEVs), including the Dynasty and Ocean series of vehicles.

The NVIDIA DRIVE Orin platform is critical for diverse and redundant sensor processing in real-time, providing automakers with the compute headroom to develop and support new software-driven services throughout the life of the vehicle.

The partnership between BYD and NVIDIA reflects their shared belief that future cars will be programmable and based on high-performance centralized computers.

Since entering production last year, the NVIDIA DRIVE Orin platform has become the transportation industry’s AI engine of choice for the new generation of NEVs, robotaxis, shuttles, and trucks.

The scalable platform is capable of performing up to 254 trillion operations per second and can power automated driving functions while simultaneously running numerous deep neural networks, providing the ultimate safety and reliability.

BYD has sold over 3.7 million NEVs globally as of February 2023, making it one of the leading NEV manufacturers. Beyond selecting NVIDIA DRIVE Orin for its EV fleets, BYD is also working with NVIDIA to enhance the in-vehicle experience by bringing the NVIDIA GeForce NOW cloud gaming service to its vehicles.

The partnership between BYD and NVIDIA underscores the importance of advanced technologies in the transportation industry, paving the way for safer, more intelligent, and sustainable vehicles in the future.

© 2023 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway and BYD, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell a stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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Lessons From Warren Buffett

Lessons From Warren Buffett: Most Businesses that Require Huge Capital Investments Make Poor Investments

Warren Buffett warns that most companies that need constant large capital investments usually turn out poorly for investors.

“Most fields that require heavy capital investment, most of the time, they don’t turn out very well over time,” Buffett said at the 2000 Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting. “There are plenty of exceptions to that, but if you find a business that has to keep adding up huge sums of money every year, there always will be a reason why they’re doing it. But the net result, after five or 10 or 20 years usually isn’t very good.”

Hear Buffett’s full explanation

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© 2023 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance

Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance Names Ben Ruddlesdin Head of Professional Indemnity in London

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance has promoted Ben Ruddlesdin to Head of Professional Indemnity & Cyber (UK). He was previously Senior Underwriter, PI & Cyber.

“Ben has been integral to the growth of our PI portfolio over the past three years,” said Jessica Kirby, Head of Executive and Professional Lines, UK. “In his new role, he will work closely with Executive Underwriter David Harries and our exceptionally experienced team to take our PI presence to the next level, as we continue our growth into more primary and lead positions.”

Ben has nearly 10 years of industry experience and has held a variety of increasingly senior roles within the Professional Indemnity market.

He continues to be based in London.

© 2023 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell a stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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BYD

BYD Signs MOU with Octopus Electric Vehicles UK

BYD, the world’s leading manufacturer of new energy vehicles, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Octopus Electric Vehicles Ltd.

Octopus EV plans to purchase 5000 new energy vehicles from BYD for UK customers over the next three years. They will be available in conjunction with the Salary Sacrifice scheme providing one of the most economical ways of leasing a BYD car in the UK.

The start of this commercial relationship lays the foundations for Octopus EV to become a BYD Partner for the Salary Sacrifice scheme in the UK, with plans for further orders in the future.

The initial order will include the BYD ATTO 3, an all-electric C-Segment SUV, making its debut in the UK in March featuring BYD’s pioneering EV technology.

The versatile BYD ATTO 3, combining modern aesthetics with an abundance of innovative intelligent technology, is anticipated to have wide appeal for both business and personal customers. It further enhances the increasing range of electric cars available from Octopus EV, as part of its convenient all-in-one service that includes car lease, charge point installation and specialist EV energy tariffs.

Michael Shu, General Manager and Managing Director, BYD Europe and International Cooperation Division, said: “We are delighted to enter this cooperation with Octopus EV. This is an exciting new chapter for BYD as we bring our latest products and leading technologies to customers in the UK, as shown in our innovative range of electric passenger cars, starting with the BYD ATTO 3. BYD staunchly believes in partnerships with like-minded organisations, and our shared commitment to eMobility and sustainable innovation for a greener future endorses our mutual aims.”

Oliver Boots, Chief Commercial Officer of Octopus Electric Vehicles, commented: “When Octopus Electric Vehicles launched, there were only a handful of EVs on the market – we’re now at more than 85 and the figure is rising all the time. Customers have an amazing range of models to choose from, all of which are at the cutting edge of tech and are fun to drive. Being able to partner with BYD as they launch in the UK is a real milestone. They’re a global leader and we’re looking forward to being able to offer our 5* Trustpilot service to customers – accelerating our growth and moving us another step closer to zero-emission transport in the UK.”

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway and BYD, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell a stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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Lessons From Warren Buffett

Lessons From Warren Buffett: Three Important Principles From Benjamin Graham

Warren Buffett, the most renowned and accomplished student of Benjamin Graham, who wrote The Intelligent Investor, distilled Graham’s teachings into three fundamental principles.

“There’s three important aspects to it. One is your attitude toward the stock market. That’s covered in chapter eight of The Intelligent Investor,” Buffett said at the 1995 Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting. “If you’ve got that attitude toward the market, you start ahead of 99 percent of all people who are operating in the market. So, you have an enormous advantage. Second principle is the margin of safety, which again, gives you an enormous edge, and actually has applicability far beyond just the investment world. And then the third is just looking at stocks as businesses, which gives you an entirely different view than most people that are in the market.”

Hear Buffett’s full explanation

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© 2023 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.