Warren Buffett sells Paramount stock: “I sold it all and lost a lot of money”

warren buffett2 year affair with paramount Global is over.

The prominent investor and Berkshire Hathaway CEO said his company is exiting its position at Paramount. Buffett revealed the news Saturday at Berkshire’s annual meeting in Omaha, Nebraska.

“We sold everything and lost a significant amount of money, which happens in this business,” Buffett told the audience, adding that he was the one who decided to buy into the company in the first place. There was also speculation that one of Mr. Buffett’s agents may have initiated the deal). “Guys, I did everything myself.”

Berkshire surprised Wall Street. disclosed Acquired $2.6 billion in Paramount stock in May 2022.Later that year Added more He will acquire the stock and eventually become the company’s largest shareholder (at least with non-voting shares; Shari Redstone and the Redstone family’s National Amusements control a majority of the voting shares).

Since then, unsurprisingly, the prohibitive costs of competing in the streaming wars and a seemingly lukewarm M&A market have sent Paramount’s stock price down and the company in dire financial straits. Paramount also cut its dividend last year to invest in streaming.

The company has been embroiled in sale negotiations in recent months, with an exclusive negotiating window with David Ellison’s Skydance-led consortium just closing, and new offers from Apollo and Sony on the table. Stock prices have rebounded slightly following the negotiations, but the situation remains unstable given the uncertainty as to whether an agreement will be reached. What happens if you don’t?.

The company too I broke up with the CEOBob Bakish last week created an “Office of the CEO” with three executives in place to replace him.

At Berkshire’s shareholder meeting held in Omaha last year, Buffett quipped “It’s not good news for any company to drastically cut its dividend,” he said, adding that he appeared to be skeptical of the streaming business.

“There are a lot of companies you don’t want to leave. You never know what the pricing will be under there,” Buffett said.

At Saturday’s meeting, Buffett said the experience taught him a lesson at age 93.

“In fact, owning Paramount has made me think even more deeply about what people do with their free time and what are the governing principles of running any kind of entertainment business, whether it’s sports or movies. I’ve certainly thought more seriously about the whole issue of, “Maybe.” Buffett said. “I think I’m smarter now than I was a few years ago, but I also think I’m poorer because I’ve acquired the same knowledge.”

Berkshire revealed in February The company announced that it had begun selling its Paramount shares at the end of last year.

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