Buffett secretly bought up a $10bn stake in IBM
THE SAGE of Omaha has staked his biggest ever bet on the technology sector after amassing at 5.5 per cent stake in IBM worth $10.7bn (£6.71bn).
Warren Buffett, one of the most respected and revered investors in the US, has historically shunned the sector on the grounds he does not understand it.
However, he said yesterday the firm’s long-term growth plans – which have already seen it overtake Microsoft as the second biggest technology firm in the world behind Apple – were enough to convince him to part with his cash.
He said: “I don’t know of any large company that has been as specific on what they intend to do and how they intend to do it as IBM.”
His Berkshire Hathaway investment vehicle started buying the shares in March with a target of stake of $10bn.
Buffett said IBM did not know that he was building a stake and that the company was finding out about his investment for the first time as he disclosed it on television.
Shares in the conglomerate have risen by a quarter in the last six months.