MAM
Warren Buffett picks up stake in Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox
MUMBAI: Billionaire Warren Buffett’s investment vehicle Berkshire Hathaway picked up a stake in Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox during the fourth quarter last year. Buffett’s company bought 4.7 million shares in News Corp and at Tuesday’s closing price of $34 per share, the stake was worth approximately $160 million.
In a quarterly filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday, Berkshire Hathaway said that it bought 4.7 million shares in Murdoch’s company. The companies that fall under the 21st Century Fox umbrella are: 20th Century Fox movie studio, Fox Broadcasting, 20th Century Fox Television, Fox News, FX and Fox Sports.
Berkshire Hathaway has also increased its stake in cable television provider Charter Communications last year from approximately five million shares to 6.2 million during the fourth quarter. Additionally, the company also has stakes in other media and entertainment conglomerates like satellite television company DirecTV (31.4 million shares), Liberty Global (18.2 million shares), Liberty Media (12 million shares) and Viacom (8.6 million shares).
While he upped his investment in media companies, the octogenarian business magnate dumped his stakes in oil companies Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips, at a time when oil prices have been on a downslide. His firm offloaded 41 million shares worth approximately $3.7 billion of Exxon, which is the largest US oil company.
