Berkshire Hathaway to acquire Alleghany in mega bucks deal

The wily wolf of wall street is back at it again.

Splashing the cash

It’s not every day you get to throw around nearly $12 billion on an investment. Then again, we’re not Warren Buffett. The cunning operator has built a reputation over decades for making prudent investments at the right time, taking a loyal legion of investors with him. So Berkshire Hathaway’s latest multi-billion-dollar acquisition – its largest since 2016 – is sure to set the gossip columns alight.

Berkshire has always had a high level of exposure to the insurance industry, so the acquisition of this insurance firm isn’t too much of a surprise. Ultimately, Buffett has almost always been a prudent investor first and foremost, so while the sums may be big, the risk potential for this acquisition is quite likely a calculated maneuver. He’s called the Oracle of Omaha for a reason, right?

We meet again

Interestingly, Buffett also has previous with Alleghany’s CEO, Joe Brandon. Brandon is also the CEO of General Re – also owned by Berkshire. As they always say: it’s all about who you know, right?

In any case, it’s certainly interesting to see how Buffett leverages his connections to find the right offerings. For a long time now, he has been bemoaning the lack of availability of good investments. The pandemic certainly has played a role in this, so no doubt the ending of Buffett’s investing drought will be watched with eager eyes in the coming weeks.