Banking, finance, and taxes

Leucadia Holdings More Like Buffett's Alter Ego (LUK, BRK-B, ACF, CSWC, ENWV, IAAC, JEF, SMCG, TA)

Leucadia National Corp. (NYSE: LUK) is generally touted as one of the baby Berkshires…. meaning it is treated along the same lines as Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-B) and Warren Buffett.  The problem is that Leucadia has a far, far different mix of holdings.   AmeriCredit Corp. (NYSE: ACF) and Jefferies Group Inc. (NYSE: JEF) are its two giant public stakes, but there are some other interesting takes in here.

The public company stakes in the U.S. are as follows:

  • AmeriCredit Corp. (NYSE: ACF) 33,900,440 shares.
  • Capital Southwest Corporation (NASDAQ: CSWC) 19,776 shares.
  • Endwave Corp. (NASDAQ: ENWV) 70,000 shares; shares up over 9% today.
  • International Assets Holding Corporation (NASDAQ: IAAC) 1,384,985 shares.
  • Jefferies Group Inc. (NYSE: JEF) 48,585,385 shares.
  • Millennium India Acquisition Company Inc. (NASDAQ: SMCG) 120,000 shares; stock up over 30% on this today.
  • TravelCenters of America LLC (NYSE: TA) 275,308 shares.

This is a very eclectic mix for a company often thought of as a mini-Berkshire or Buffett mirror.  If anything, this might be a more like “Buffett’s alter ego” on the surface.  The company has operations in manufacturing (Idaho Timber), telecom (STi Prepaid), land based contract oil and gas drilling Keen Energy), property management and services (ResortQuest International), gaming entertainment (Premier Entertainment Biloxi), real estate activities (various), medical product development (Sangart, Inc.-hemoglobin) and it even lists winery operations (Pine Ridge, Archery Summit, Chamisal Vineyards, and development project).

As far as what else is there, Lecadia has its hands in many operations.  It has the JHYH venture with Jefferies which makes markets in high yield and special situation securities and provides research coverage on these types of securities.

The company’s investment in Fortescue and its subsidiary, FMG Chichester Pty Ltd., consists of 247,986,000 common shares (about 8% o outstanding shares) and a $100,000,000 note of FMG that matures in August 2019.

Non-current available for sale investments include 5,600,000 common shares of Inmet Mining Corporation in Canada (“IMN-TSX”) with a cost of $78,000,000 and carrying values of $325,500,000.

This morning came a filing that was as follows: Asset Put Agreement by and among Berkadia III, LLC (now known as Berkadia Commercial Mortgage LLC), Capmark Finance Inc., Capmark Capital Inc., and Capmark Financial Group Inc. and, with respect to Sections 2.5, 10.5, 10.7, 10.11, 10.16 and 10.17 only, Leucadia National Corporation and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. dated as of September 2, 2009… FULL DETAILS

Leucadia shares are down almost 0.5% at $24.30 on only 150,000 shares right at Noon today.  The 52-week trading range is $18.00 to $28.37 and the 52-week trading range is $5.91 billion.  At the March 31 quarter, the total assets were listed as $6.988 billion versus total liabilities of $2.408 billion.

JON C. OGG

Credit Card Companies Are Doing Something Nuts

Credit card companies are at war. The biggest issuers are handing out free rewards and benefits to win the best customers.

It’s possible to find cards paying unlimited 1.5%, 2%, and even more today. That’s free money for qualified borrowers, and the type of thing that would be crazy to pass up. Those rewards can add up to thousands of dollars every year in free money, and include other benefits as well.

We’ve assembled some of the best credit cards for users today.  Don’t miss these offers because they won’t be this good forever.

 

Flywheel Publishing has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Flywheel Publishing and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.