Editor’s Note: Related tickers: Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A), BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY), Steinway Musical Instruments Inc (NYSE:LVB), H.J. Heinz Company (NYSE:HNZ)
Is Canada’s Warren Buffett going to save BlackBerry? Investment tycoon emerges as leading bidder for struggling smartphone maker (DailyMail)
A Canadian investment tycoon is emerging as a frontrunner in the bidding to take over BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY). Prem Watsa – often regarded as Canada’s Warren Buffett – is thought to be one of the leading bidders for the struggling smartphone company which has just put itself up for sale. The head of Fairfax Financial Holdings was on BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY)’s board until he resigned on Monday citing a conflict of interests. The 61-year-old is the company’s biggest shareholder – believed to have spent £570 million buying ten per cent of the company’s shares – and he is now expected to try and organise BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY)’s exit from the stockmarket.
Paulson Pulls Buffett-Like Move in Steinway Acquisition (TheStreet)
John Paulson‘s hedge fund Paulson & Co is buying famed piano maker Steinway Musical Instruments Inc (NYSE:LVB) for $40 a share, in a deal that is reminiscent of the merger and acquisition activity of Warren Buffett-run Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A). In buying Steinway Musical Instruments Inc (NYSE:LVB), Paulson & Co. is making a bet on a manufacturer of high-end pianos with a history and brand that makes it “moated” from competitors or new entrants to the market. Ninety nine percent of all concert pianists chose Steinway Musical Instruments Inc (NYSE:LVB) pianos in 2007, the company says on its Web site.
Heinz’s new owners make presence felt (Just-Food)
H.J. Heinz Company (NYSE:HNZ) has announced the first significant job cuts since the Warren Buffett / 3G Capital takeover only last year. Given 3G’s track record with previous investments, the news the ketchup and soup company is “streamlining” its business should not be a huge surprise. Some 600 jobs from H.J. Heinz Company (NYSE:HNZ)’s operations in North America are to go – with 350 of them at its corporate HQ in Pittsburgh. News of lay offs at the home of H.J. Heinz Company (NYSE:HNZ) will make waves locally and understandably so – the US food giant has been present in the Steel City for 144 years.
3 to Watch: WMT, DAN & BRK.B (CNBC)
Buffett Tops Reese Witherspoon as Charity Auction Draw (BusinessWeek)
Warren Buffett, the billionaire chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A), drew a top offer of $118,000 for an all-you-can-eat tour of a See’s Candies factory, with less than 3 hours left in the charity auction. Bidding has climbed from less than $50,000 earlier today and $17,000 when it began on July 25. Buffett is among celebrities who are supporting auctions to benefit Communities in Schools of Los Angeles, a high school dropout-prevention program. The top offer for lunch with actress Reese Witherspoon was $6,000. Bidding is scheduled to end today at 4:20 p.m. in New York for the lunch and two minutes later for the candy tour.
Warren Buffett-owned company plans to use federal wind subsidies (DailyCaller)
A subsidiary of the Warren Buffett-owned MidAmerican Energy Holdings is looking to capitalize on federal tax subsidies by installing 448 wind turbines across five Iowa counties in order to generate up to 1,050 megawatts of power by 2015. Construction on the wind farms is scheduled to begin next month, meaning MidAmerican will qualify for generous wind tax credits offered by the federal government. “MidAmerican Energy Company does plan to use federal wind production tax credits for the recently announced wind expansion,” a company spokeswoman told The Daily Caller News Foundation in an email. “The specific amount is not available.”
Warren Buffet kids series sells globally (TBIVision)
The 26x30mins series, has gone to MediaCorp in Singapore, Workpoint Entertainment in Thailand, Globosat in Brazil and ZOOM in Israel. The news comes after Paris-based PGS launched an office in Hong Kong. KidVenture Club comes from Andy Heyward’s A Squared Entertainment and China’s Xing Xing and was created with businessman Buffet. It features guest appearances from the likes of rapper Jay-Z, basketball player Shaquille O’Neal and technology impresario and philathropist Bill Gates.
