OMAHA, Neb. – Warren Buffett has revealed that he is abandoning Berkshire Hathaway entirely Basic Share in the loss.
“I was 100% responsible for Paramount's decision,” Buffett said at Berkshire's annual shareholder meeting. “It was 100% my decision, we sold everything and lost a huge amount of money.”
Berkshire owns 63.3 million shares in Paramount through the end of 2023, after cutting the position by about a third in the fourth quarter of last year, according to the latest filings.
The Omaha-based group first bought a non-voting stake in Paramount's Class B stock in the first quarter of 2022. Since then, the media company has had a rough ride, seeing a dividend cut, a loss in earnings, and the exit of a CEO. The stock is down 44% in 2022 and another 12% in 2023.
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Just this week, Sony Pictures and private equity firm Apollo Global Management sent a letter to Paramount's board of directors expressing interest in acquiring the company for about $26 billion. The company is also in acquisition talks with David Ellison's Skydance Media.
Paramount has struggled in recent years, suffering from declining revenues as more consumers abandon traditional pay TV and as streaming services continue to lose money. The stock is back in the red again this year, down about 13%.
Buffett said Paramount's fruitless bet made him think more deeply about what people prioritize in their leisure time. He previously said that the live streaming industry has too many players seeking viewers' money, causing an intense price war.
