Berkshire's Weschler Reveals Personal Stakes in DaVita, DirecTV

   By Erik Holm and Joseph Walker 
 

Ted Weschler, one of the new portfolio managers at Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRKA, BRKB), has personal holdings in companies he's invested in on Berkshire's behalf, regulatory filings show.

Mr. Weschler's holdings pre-date his joining Berkshire, the massive conglomerate run by Warren Buffett, according to the filings. He was named to the investment manager role at Berkshire in September 2011.

The company said it entered into an agreement with Mr. Weschler on Friday that clarifies that shares owned by Mr. Weschler weren't owned by Berkshire, and vice versa.

Mr. Weschler's holdings include a 1.1% stake in DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc. (DVA), the second-largest operator of kidney dialysis centers in the U.S., with sales of over $8 billion last year.

Earlier this month, DaVita announced that it reached a standstill agreement that will prevent Berkshire from acquiring more than a 15% stake in the firm. Berkshire currently owns roughly 14% of DaVita's outstanding shares.

Berkshire assembled the stake after Mr. Weschler was named to help manager a portion of Berkshire's massive investment portfolio. Along with another investment manager, Todd Combs, Mr. Weschler is expected to handle all investing duties at Berkshire when Mr. Buffett no longer runs the firm.

Mr. Weschler also owns about 0.3% of Liberty Media Corp.'s Class A shares (LMCA LMCB), 0.3% of Starz (STRZA STRZB), the cable network spun off by Liberty Media in January, and 0.1% of DirecTV (DTV).

Berkshire also owns stakes in those three firms thanks to Mr. Weschler.

The filings said "Berkshire disclaims any beneficial ownership of Shares directly owned by Mr. Weschler...and Mr. Weschler disclaims any beneficial ownership of Shares owned by Berkshire."

In a separate filing, Berkshire showed that Meryl Witmer, the investment manager who joined Berkshire's board this month, acquired about $1 million of Berkshire's Class A shares.

Write to Erik Holm at [e-mail]

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