Berkshire Hathaway priced ?90 billion ($628 million) of bonds on Friday, completing a yen deal even as sharp market volatility prompted several Japanese companies to cancel sales.
It was the smallest yen deal by investor Warren Buffett¡¯s firm since it started tapping the Japanese market in 2019, Bloomberg-compiled data show. The six-part offering had tenors ranging from three years to 30 years.
Buffett¡¯s company sold the yen bonds at a time when global trade clashes sparked by U.S. President Donald Trump¡¯s threat to increase tariffs rattled financial markets worldwide. That¡¯s led to funding costs rising across the board, and a dearth of longer bonds.
The offering is also under the spotlight among investors because the funds raised may be used to increase Berkshire¡¯s stakes in Japanese firms. Indeed, the U.S. company boosted its holdings in Japan¡¯s five biggest trading houses last month, and Buffett¡¯s annual letter to shareholders in February signaled plans to do so.
The billionaire wrote that the five firms including Mitsubishi and Itochu ¡°very successfully operate in a manner somewhat similar to Berkshire itself,¡± and ¡°as the years have passed, our admiration for these companies has consistently grown.¡±
His enthusiasm for the Japanese companies caught the attention of global investors, helping attract funds from overseas and lifting the nation¡¯s 225-issue Nikkei average and Topix share index to record highs last year.
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