On August 29th 2017, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:$BRK.A) officially became Bank of America Corp (NYSE:$BAC) ’s largest shareholder by exercising its right to acquire 700 million shares at a mass discount. This means that the company has tripled its investment from 6 years ago.
This means Berkshire is now the largest shareholder in the second and third largest U.S. banks. The company’s shares are 6.6 percent in Bank of America and 10% in Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:$WFC), according to Reuters.
As per statements from Bank of America on Tuesday, Berkshire acquired the shares for roughly $7.14 each, well below their closing price of $23.58. Berkshire paid for the shares by swapping $5 billion of Bank of America preferred stock it had bought in August 2011.
Berkshire now owns new common shares that are worth around $16.5 billion, seeing a paper profit of roughly $11.5 billion.
Adding to Berkshire’s impressive resume are more than 90 businesses acquisitions, including Geico car insurance, Dairy Queen, and BNSF railroad.
The decision to become a major shareholder of BOA was rooted in BOA”s decision in June to boost its dividend by 60% due to the passing of a Federal Reserve “stress test”.
Bank of America Chief Executive Brian Moynihan expressed gratitude over the deal in a statement: “ In 2011, we welcomed Berkshire Hathaway as a shareholder, we continue to appreciate their support now as our largest common shareholder.”
Berkshire will collect $336 million of annual dividends from BoA, on top of its $800 million collection of annual dividends from Wells Fargo.
Buffett himself will be turning 87 this Wednesday. An early birthday present, perhaps?
Featured Image: twitter
