....why is Warren Buffett getting out of EVs?
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway reduces stake in Chinese EV giant BYDCOMPANY NEWSby
Glenn Dyer June 26, 2024 10:37 AM
For the second time this month, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has cut its holding in Chinese EV and battery giant BYD.
In a filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Berkshire revealed Tuesday that it had sold down its stake to less than 6% on June 19.
Berkshire cut its stake from 6.18% to 5.99% by selling 2,017,500 BYD shares at an average price of HK$234.57 for HK$470 million (US$60 million).
The June 19 sale came after one on June 11 when Berkshire reduced its BYD position by 1,347,500 shares, from 7.02% to 6.9%.
The average price per share traded at the time was HK$230.46, giving Berkshire about HK$310 million.
Berkshire took its BYD stake on September 29, 2008, when its subsidiary, Berkshire Hathaway Energy, spent US$230 million to buy 225 million shares of BYD at HK$8 per share.
That was a 10% stake, and from that date, Berkshire's holdings in BYD did not change until about two years ago when the sales started.
BYD currently has a market value of more than US$95 billion, so the smaller stake held by Berkshire is still well in the money with a value of around US$5.4 billion.
