‘We lost quite a bit of money’

OMAHA, Neb. – Warren Buffett revealed that he has dumped Berkshire Hathaway’s entire business Decisive bet with a loss.

“I was 100% responsible for Paramount’s decision,” Buffett said at Berkshire’s annual shareholder meeting. “It was 100% my decision, we sold everything and we lost quite a bit of money.”

Berkshire owned 63.3 million shares of Paramount at the end of 2023, after cutting the position by about a third in the fourth quarter of last year, the latest filings show.

The Omaha-based conglomerate first purchased a non-voting stake in Paramount’s Class B stock in the first quarter of 2022. Since then, the media company has had a rough ride, including a dividend cut, missed earnings figures and a departure of the CEO. The stock fell 44% in 2022 and another 12% in 2023.

Just this week, Sony Pictures and private equity firm Apollo Global Management sent a letter to Paramount’s board expressing interest in acquiring the company for approximately $26 billion. The company has also held acquisition talks with David Ellison’s Skydance Media.

Paramount has struggled in recent years, suffering from declining revenues as more consumers abandon traditional pay TV and streaming services continue to lose money. The share is in the red again this year, with a decline of almost 13%.

Buffett said the unfruitful bet on Paramount made him think more deeply about what people prioritize in their spare time. He previously said the streaming industry has too many players looking for viewer dollars, causing a fierce price war.