Scripps shares soar on apparent misinterpretation of old Berkshire deal news
E.W. Scripps shares soar on apparent misinterpretation of old Berkshire deal news Shares of E.W. Scripps (SSP) soared 12.9% to $16.75 in after-hours trading tonight, adding almost $156 million to its market value, after an SEC filing noting Berkshire's receipt of warrants giving it the right at some point in the future to buy 23 million common shares for $13 each, a total of $300 million.
The warrants are part of a deal announced in late September in which Berkshire Hathaway, in effect, loaned Scripps $600 million to help finance its planned $2.65 billion acquisition of ION Media.
That purchase closed on January 7, and tonight's filing includes that date as the "event which requires filing of this statement," indicating the warrants were delivered as the ION deal was finalized. If the warrants are exercised, those 23 million shares would be just under 25% of Scripps's current outstanding shares.
A Reuters headline that Berkshire Hathaway had reported "a passive stake of 24.9%" in Scripps did not include the filing's text that all of the common shares being reported are "held in the form of a warrant" exercisable by Berkshire.
The stock started gaining, apparently on the mistaken belief Berkshire had actually purchased one-quarter of Scripps' common stock.
With Scripps then up 3.5%, CNBC also reported Berkshire had taken a stake of about 25%.
Animated Buffett is "A Midwestern Yankee in King Arthur's Court" Genius Brands, the company behind the animated series "Warren Buffett's Secret Millionaires Club" has put its star into what it's calling a "feature-length movie special," in which "Warren Buffett and the kids travel back in time to Camelot on a Quest for the Six Golden Rules to save Young Arthur's Kingdom, making new friends and learning valuable lessons along the way!"
Among the problems of the kingdom: not enough gold and too much inflation.
It can be seen on the Kartoon Channel's website and many other video distribution platforms.
BUFFETT AROUND THE INTERNET Some links may require a subscription
BERKSHIRE STOCK WATCH
BERKSHIRE'S TOP STOCK HOLDINGS - January 15, 2021
Berkshire's top holdings of disclosed publicly-traded U.S. stocks by market value, based on today's closing prices.
Holdings are as of September 30, 2020 as reported in Berkshire Hathaway and New England Asset Management's 13F filings on November 16, 2020.
The full list of holdings and current market values is available from CNBC.com's Berkshire Hathaway Portfolio Tracker.
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS
Please send any questions or comments about the newsletter to me at alex.crippen@nbcuni.com. (Sorry, but we don't forward questions or comments to Buffett himself.)
If you aren't already subscribed to this newsletter, you can sign up here.
-- Alex Crippen, Editor, Warren Buffett Watch
|
Post a Comment