Berkshire Hathaway buying Heinz is unlike any deal Buffett has ever done. In his past deals he was always a passive owner – he let existing management continue to run the company. In this case 3G, a private equity firm that has done terrific turnarounds in the past, will be the new management. They are putting in $1 billion of capital for half of ownership, but also a lot of sweat capital. On the surface Buffett is paying 20 times earnings, a fairly high multiple even for this high-quality business, but 3G involvement will likely elevate the earnings power of Heinz significantly over time. So this is a classic Buffett deal in one respect: Buffett is saying, I’m willing to pay a premium for a quality business that has long-term pricing power. (Heinz scores great on both counts). Buffett is willing to pay a premium for it, but this time the premium is less than it appears on the surface.
Please read the following important disclosure here.
Enjoyed this read?
Share it with someone who’d love it too!
New to investing?
Explore these valuable guides to get started.
Related Articles
You are not as smart as you think you are – Update 2026
In a bull market, it is easy to forget about selling discipline and then turn into a "buy and forget to sell" investor. Every time you sell a stock, you look dumb because it usually goes up afterward.
This Is Your Captain Speaking – Buckle Up
I have been feeling very uneasy about the market and the economy. Over the last two decades our economy has been acclimated to insanely low interest rates, and reacclimation to higher and rising rates is going to be difficult.
What to Do When a Stock Drops 25%
Stock XYZ has declined 25%. What do you think? Is your thesis broken? What you observe in stock price volatility is mostly noise. A good chunk of buyers and sellers don’t know much about what they are trading other than the ticker.
Greg Abel Takes Over Berkshire Hathaway: My Thoughts After Omaha 2026
Last year I came out of the BRK annual meeting thinking that Greg Abel was not the right person to run Berkshire Hathaway. Abel lacked Buffett's charisma, warmth, and humor. Greg Abel was not Buffett, and he definitely was not Munger. I was wrong.
comments
0