Billionaire investor Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. started marketing bonds in the Japanese currency, putting it on course to add to more than 1 trillion yen ($7.5 billion) of such issuance in recent years.
(Bloomberg) — Billionaire investor Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. started marketing bonds in the Japanese currency, putting it on course to add to more than 1 trillion yen ($7.5 billion) of such issuance in recent years.
The US conglomerate is offering yen bonds across seven tranches in a transaction that may price as early as April 14, according to a person familiar with the matter. Berkshire Hathaway is the first major overseas debt issuer to kick off a yen deal under new Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda, who signaled at his inaugural press conference Monday that any significant policy changes may be unlikely for the time being.
Buffett is weighing more investments in Japan, and would consider other industries apart from trading houses, the Nikkei said Tuesday, citing an interview with him.
Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire Hathaway surprised Japanese markets in 2020 when it bought shares in local trading companies after selling one of the biggest-ever yen bond deals by an overseas company.
The veteran investor’s company is offering wider credit spreads on tranches in the new deal than when it last tapped the market in December, as speculation about the BOJ pulling back on ultra-easy policy drove yield premiums higher this year. It’s one of the largest foreign issuers of yen bonds, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
(Updates with news report on investments in third paragraph.)
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