Buffett to Buy Van Tuyl, Create Berkshire Auto Unit Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK/A) agreed to buy Van Tuyl Group, the largest privately owned U.S. auto dealer, in a bet that the industry will consolidate. The business will be renamed Berkshire Hathaway Automotive and continue to be run by Larry Van Tuyl, Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire said today in a statement that didn’t disclose terms. The target company has more than $8 billion of revenue. “I fully expect we’ll buy a lot more dealerships,” Buffett told CNBC today. “We’ve gone a long time without getting into automobiles, but Larry’s got an operation that we think could be scaled up a lot from where it is.” Buffett, 84, has been drawn to businesses that have opportunities to expand through acquisitions. Such bolt-on purchases allow his deputies to deploy part of Berkshire’s cash pile, which was more than $55 billion as of June 30, and free his time for larger deals. Related: Billionaire Buffett Says Tesco Investment Was ‘A Huge Mistake’ Over the last two decades, the car dealership industry has consolidated as some businesses closed and companies like AutoNation Inc. (AN) and Penske Automotive Group Inc. built their networks. That trend is poised to continue, said Tim Lamb, president of [...] newsintx/buffett-to-buy-van-tuyl-create-berkshire-auto-unit/
Posted on: Fri, 03 Oct 2014 05:50:11 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015