(BRK.A), (BRK.B)
Berkshire Hathaway has a reputation for holding on to its wholly-owned businesses through thick and thin, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it never sells them. The Kirby Company, which has been making vacuum cleaners since 1906, and is famous for its door-to-door salesforce, has been sold to Chicago-based private equity firm Right Lane Capital.
Kirby has been a part of the Scott Fetzer Company since 1914, and Berkshire Hathaway became the owner of the famed vacuum cleaner maker in 1986 when it acquired Scott Fetzer for $400 million.
The Scott Fetzer Company has over diverse 26 brands that include the famed “As seen on TV” Ginsu Knife, World Book, the publisher of the World Book Encyclopedia, and a host of lesser-known brands such as Wayne, the dominant player in the water pump industry.
In addition to The Kirby Company, Right Lane Capital’s acquisitions have included Galvanic Applied Sciences, Pacific Press Technologies, Multipress, and Fenn-Torin.
© 2021 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.