If you own a Forest River RV, you probably already know that gazillionaire Warren Buffett is remotely involved in your life. Forest River is owned by Buffett’s company, Berkshire Hathaway. Now Berkshire Hathaway has 10 fingers in another sort-of RV-related business. The big corporation just bought up the last 20% of Pilot Travel Centers.
More big names
It seems more big names are involved in Pilot than you can shake the proverbial stick at. Football fans probably know of Jimmy Haslam III. Jimmy is the co-owner of the Cleveland Browns. That wasn’t all that Haslam owned. Haslam’s family own a chunk of Pilot Truck Stops. Well, that is, until earlier this week. On Tuesday, Berkshire Hathaway plunked down the last of the money to buy up the remaining shares of Pilot stock.
It was a long and tough-fought history. Berkshire bought better than a third of a share of the company in 2017 for $2.8 billion. A year ago, in January 2023, the big money outfit plunked down a cool $8.2 billion more take their share up to 80%. There was no big secret that Berkshire Hathaway wanted the whole pie. Along the way, a couple of lawsuits got filed, where Berkshire and Haslam accused each other of tricky manipulations to either reduce or increase the value of the truck stop network, to suit their respective needs.
Will Warren’s fingers in Pilot make a difference to you?
But all is better now, or so it seems. No word on how much the Haslams got from Mr. Buffett, but the deal is signed, sealed, and delivered. Berkshire Hathaway says the company’s remaining 20% was worth more than $3 billion last year. Chump change? Who knows. One financial publisher suggests Pilot probably cost Buffett somewhere around $13 billion for complete acquisition.
Will having Warren Buffett own your favorite fuel stop make a difference to you in the long term? Well, you could start by wondering if Berkshire Hathaway’s ownership of Forest River made much difference.
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You have to look at Berkshire Hathaway acquisitions a bit differently than other investors acquisitions. He is in for the long term, not short term profits. He must see something that will improve sales and profits over time or he would not have made the investment. He bought the Burlington Northern railroad because he felt that approval of the Keystone pipeline was going to take a long time, if it was ever approved. The railroad is making a good profit hauling the oil that the pipeline was designed to move.
Your exactly correct. He lobbies politicians with sacks of campaign cash to shut down a pipeline with zero emissions for greater use of his diesel electric locomotives. Follow the dirty money.
Agreed !!
That’s why he is extremely wealthy and you are not!
Warren Buffett doesn’t get involved with running his companies. He hires a CEO and that person is responsible and accountable for running the company.