Could Buying This $4.1 Billion Stock Be Like Buying Berkshire Hathaway in 1965?
A billionaire investor has big plans to turn this company into the next Berkshire Hathaway.
When Warren Buffett started buying shares of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) (NYSE: BRK.B) in 1962, it was a failing textile business. The appeal for Buffett wasn't Berkshire's business -- it was that its book value far exceeded its stock price.
Although he planned to sell the shares in 1964, a disagreement with management led him to angrily buy up more shares of the stock and take over the struggling company in 1965. During the next 60 years, Buffett turned Berkshire Hathaway into one of the most valuable companies in the world, exceeding a valuation of $1 trillion.
Today, investors may have an opportunity to follow another famous investor into a company trading below the value of its assets. Bill Ackman's Pershing Square investment fund has struck a deal with Howard Hughes Holdings (NYSE: HHH) to acquire a significant stake in the business and make Ackman its executive chairman. Ackman plans to use the business's cash flows to turn it into a diversified holding company, a la Berkshire Hathaway.
