Berkshire Hathaway Invests In Energy Sector & Restaurant

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A) (BRK.B) announced that it has acquired Charter Brokerage, which provides logistics to the petroleum and chemical industries.  

 

New York-based Charter Brokerage is a U.S. petroleum and chemical drawback services provider. A drawback is the refund of import duties and taxes on a product when a form of that same product is exported.

 

Charter Brokerage connects importers and exporters in the petroleum and petrochemical industries to arrange for such refunds. Initially serving the petroleum and airline industries, Charter now provides services to a wide array  of industries, including chemicals, petrochemicals, biofuels, industrial machinery and equipment, metals and food products, among others.

 

The buyout will be made from private equity firm Arsenal Capital. The purchase price of the deal was not disclosed. This marks the second investment by Berkshire Hathaway in the energy sector. Earlier this month, the company's Lubrizol announced that it will buy a couple of units from Weatherford International Plc for at least $750 million after the seller was grappling with lower oil prices.

 

In a separate development, Berkshire Hathaway acquired 100% outstanding Class A Preferred Shares of and approximately 13% of the total number of votes attached to the all outstanding voting shares of Restaurant Brands International Inc. The securities were acquired for investment purposes. 

 

Flush with cash, Berkshire Hathaway has made quite a few acquisitions recently. Last month, the company purchased the Duracell battery business of Procter and Gamble PG. The company has emerged as a conglomerate via numerous acquisitions with its business ranging from ice cream to railroads to insurance. 

 

Berkshire Hathaway is currently riding the crest of the economic recovery in the United States through its investments in utilities and railroads.

 

Berkshire Hathaway carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Other players worth considering include Arch Capital Group Ltd. ACGL, AmTrust Financial Services, Inc. AFSI and Navigators Group NAVG. All these stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).