OMAHA, Neb. — Warren Buffett broke that Berkshire Hathaway is looking into an investment in Canada.
“We do not feel uncomfortable in any shape or form putting our capital into Canada,” he told an arena full of investors Saturday. “In fact, we’re actually looking at one thing now.”
The billionaire investor has spotted bets in the country in the past. He’s previously taken a roughly $300 million position in Home Capital Group that investors extracted as a vote of confidence in the troubled Canadian mortgage underwriter.
The “Oracle of Omaha” said during the annual shareholder gathering that he does not expect to make significant bets outside the U.S., saying his recent investments in Japanese trading diets were a compelling exception. But Buffett noted the similarity in operations between the Canada and the U.S.
“There’s a lot of countries we don’t understand at all,” Buffett imparted. “So, Canada, it’s terrific when you’ve got a major economy, not the size of the U.S., but a major economy that you feel confident about manipulating there.”
Warren Buffett walks the floor and meets with Berkshire Hathaway shareholders ahead of their annual assembly in Omaha, Nebraska on May 3rd, 2024.
David A. Grogen | CNBC
Buffett did not reveal the specific company he’s looking at north of the border or whether it was manifest or private.
“Obviously, there aren’t as many big companies up there as there are in the United States,” Buffett said. “There are opportunities we actually can do fairly well that Canada could benefit from Berkshire’s participation.”
Canada’s S&P/TSX Composite Factor is up about 5% this year. The economy has large financial and commodity industries.
The Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meet is exclusively broadcast on CNBC and livestreamed on CNBC.com.