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Billionaire investor Warren Buffett is setting his sights on a new company.
The investment firm he runs, Berkshire Hathaway, is in talks to buy a stake in Latin American reinsurer IRA Brasil Resseguros, according to a Bloomberg News report. The purchase would take place following an initial public offering for the company scheduled to be completed sometime before July 27.
The IPO is expected to raise as much as 2.9 billion reals ($ 920 million), with the Brazilian government as its biggest shareholder, holding a 27% stake.
The proposed investment in IRA Brasil Resseguros isn’t Buffett’s first foray into the reinsurance business. Until 2015, he owned stakes in the world’s two largest reinsurers — Swiss Re and Munich Re. He’s also credited the proceeds from past reinsurance investments with helping build his great wealth.
The deal would be the latest in a flurry of activity for the 86-year-old Buffett, who was approached by Sprint earlier this month to make an investment of more than $ 10 billion in the wireless-service provider.
Berkshire Hathaway’s most recent deal was a $ 377 million investment in real estate investment trust Store Capital on June 26, giving the firm a 9.8% stake. Store’s shares surged as much as 11% following the announcement.
Shares of Berkshire Hathaway are up 5.5% this year.
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