Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway bets on General Motors

GlobalPost

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway disclosed today that it had acquired 10 million shares in General Motors (GM).

The Omaha, Nebraska-based company said today in a filing disclosing US stockholdings that it had also acquired 1.59 million shares in Viacom in the first quarter.

The GM shares are said to be worth $256.5 million.

The SEC documents also showed that Buffett had also increased its holdings in Wal-Mart and IBM, reported the Associated Press.

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The investments were made at the end of March but news of the purchases were not released until now as the company does not want copycat investors pushing the prices up, said CNBC.

Experts said that the car market is set for a rebound, a scenario Buffett seeks to take advantage of.

“There’s a pent-up demand for cars in this country, because of the financial crisis,” said David Kass of the University of Maryland’s business school, told Bloomberg.

The company's stock pickers “had an opportunity to buy at an attractive price, well below the initial public offering price.”

GM stock increased four percent to $22.28 per share after the news.

Earlier in the year, Buffett said that he will not be buying shares in Apple or Facebook.

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