Buffett and Berkshire.. Going After the Booze (BRK-B, BRK-A)

Warren Buffett likes to buy companies with a very long time frame.  In fact he likes the “Forever” trades.  It seems that Buffett decided booze was a good deal.  Berkshire Hathaway Inc.(NYSE: BRK-B, BRK-A) announced yesterday that its McLane Company subsidiary is acquiring Kahn Ventures, the parent company of Empire Distributors and Empire Distributors of North Carolina.  In short, Berkshire Hathaway is buying wholesale distributors of distilled spirits, wine and beer with geographic footprints in Georgia and North Carolina.

Warren Buffett said the acquisition is based on a shared vision of Berkshire, McLane and Kahn of “developing new opportunities to innovate, grow and lead the beverage industry.”  As far as a quote, Buffett said, “We are excited about the opportunity to have Empire become part of our portfolio of outstanding businesses. We expect that the Empire acquisition will provide us with a solid platform for potentially acquiring other similar high quality wholesale distributors.”

McLane is a $32 billion supply chain services leader with 38 distribution centers and one the nation’s largest private fleets from thousands of suppliers to more than 60,000 locations.

Financial details are not available.  It seems that Warren Buffett does not expect prohibition to be coming back any time soon.

JON C. OGG