Warren Buffett said his “trigger finger is itchy” for takeovers after cash holdings at his Berkshire Hathaway Inc. climbed to $38.2 billion.
“Our elephant gun has been reloaded,” Buffett said today in his annual letter to shareholders. Berkshire needs “good performance from our current businesses and more major acquisitions,” after the Omaha, Nebraska-based company reported a 43 percent gain in fourth-quarter profit on derivative bets and earnings from its Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad.
Buffett is seeking takeovers as Berkshire’s $13 billion 2010 profit increased the firm’s resources and near-record low interest rates limit the returns available in fixed-income markets. Buffett completed his biggest takeover, the $26.5 billion Burlington purchase, last February. Since then he’s said he’ll consider deals outside the U.S.
