- Berkshire fully liquidated its BYD holdings after reducing its stake below the disclosure threshold last July.
- A BYD executive described this as a normal occurrence and expressed gratitude for the recognition shown by Munger and Buffett.
Berkshire Hathaway, led by legendary US investor Warren Buffett, has completely liquidated its stake in BYD (HKG: 1211), following a reduction last July to a level below the disclosure threshold.
Berkshire Hathaway Energy, the subsidiary holding BYD shares, listed the investment's value as zero as of March 31 in its first-quarter earnings report, CNBC reported yesterday.
A Berkshire spokesperson confirmed that all BYD shares had indeed been sold, according to the report.
During Berkshire's ownership, BYD's stock price surged about 3,890 percent, the CNBC report noted.
In August 2022, Berkshire began reducing its stake in BYD, which it had originally purchased in 2008. By June of last year, its holding had already fallen below 5 percent, BYD's general manager of brand and public relations, Li Yunfei, said today.
"Buying and selling stocks is a normal part of investing," Li said on Weibo.
"Thank you to Munger and Buffett for recognizing BYD! We also appreciate the investment, support, and presence over the past 17 years! Cheers to all long-term investors!" Li wrote.
On September 29, 2008, Berkshire Hathaway Energy -- 91.1 percent owned by Berkshire Hathaway -- purchased 225 million BYD shares at HK$8 per share for $230 million.
This move was made at the urging of Charlie Munger. After that, Berkshire's holdings in BYD remained unchanged until three years ago.
In November 2023, Munger passed away at the age of 99, and BYD issued a tribute at the time.
On August 24, 2022, Berkshire sold 1.33 million shares of BYD listed in Hong Kong, reducing its stake from 20.04 percent to 19.92 percent -- the first reduction since Buffett first bought BYD shares.
Since then, Berkshire has reduced its BYD holdings multiple times.
A July 2024 filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange showed Berkshire's stake in BYD had decreased from 5.06 percent to 4.94 percent.
By falling below this threshold, Berkshire is no longer required to disclose subsequent sales under Hong Kong exchange rules.
