BERKSHIRE READIES $1BN INSURANCE ACQUISITION

US insurance and investment holding Berkshire Hathaway is preparing to announce a near-$1bn acquisition of an insurance company, chairman Warren Buffett said at the weekend. Speaking at the Nebraska-based company's annual meeting, Mr Buffett said that the deal “is almost certain to go through in the next few weeks”. He also noted that Berkshire was considering paying a dividend, given its cash pile of $5bn and the lack of suitable investment opportunities. However, he said that it would not be in the near-term. Mr Buffett made no comments on the ongoing investigations by the New York AG's office and the SEC into the misuse of finite reinsurance, which is sold by Berkshire's General Re and National Indemnity units. “To protect the integrity of the investigation, we won't speak on anything specific that I or anyone else had to do with the investigations”, he said.