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>>>Buffett opens up Bank One stake
By Matt Andrejczak, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 5:45 PM ET Sep 7, 2000 NewsWatch
Latest headlines
WASHINGTON (CBS.MW) --Berkshire Hathaway, the investment vehicle of famed investor Warren Buffett,
took advantage of Bank One's ailing stocking price in the first quarter, buying up 1.45 million shares of the nation's
fourth largest bank.
Berkshire also scooped up 154,900 shares of KeyCorp (KEY: news, msgs), a Cleveland, Ohio-based bank with
$84 billion of assets, according to documents released by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Both of the investments were not originally disclosed when Berkshire made its regular first-quarter filing in May,
because Buffett had applied for special confidential treatment. That request was denied on Aug. 28, the filing
indicated.
Berkshire's small stake in Bank One (ONE: news, msgs) appears to fall in line with Buffett's strategy of buying
undervalued companies. Earlier this year, Bank One hired former Citigroup (C: news, msgs) president James
Dimon to turn the company around after four straight quarters of profit declines.
Bank One, whose stock languished around its five-year low during the first-quarter, has largely suffered from the
poor performance of its credit card unit. It reported a second-quarter loss of $1.27 billion, or $1.11 per share.
Based on Bank One's closing price of $35.36, Buffet's investment is worth approximately $50.6 million, slightly
higher than the $49.95 million as of March 31, the filing noted.
Shares of Berkshire's Class A stock (BRK.A: news, msgs) closed down $1,000 to $57,000; its Class B shares
(BRK.B: news, msgs) lost $25 to $1,885.<<< |
