The Financial Times is quoting billionaire investor Warren Buffett as saying that his 2007 decision to invest in Tesco, the troubled British retailer, was not his finest moment.
Buffett reportedly spent more than $2 billion investing in Tesco, at one point having a five percent ownership stake in the company.
“I made a mistake on Tesco,” he now says. “That was a huge mistake by me.”
Tesco has been losing share in its home market, sold off its US-based Fresh & Easy business, and now is being investigated for making financial misstatements.
Buffett is said to have lost more than $800 million on his Tesco adventure.
Buffett reportedly spent more than $2 billion investing in Tesco, at one point having a five percent ownership stake in the company.
“I made a mistake on Tesco,” he now says. “That was a huge mistake by me.”
Tesco has been losing share in its home market, sold off its US-based Fresh & Easy business, and now is being investigated for making financial misstatements.
Buffett is said to have lost more than $800 million on his Tesco adventure.
- KC's View:
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Yikes.
On the other hand, in his recent letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders, Buffett said that Tesco was the only stock among his biggest 15 holdings to posted a 2013 loss.
But it still must hurt. A couple of hundred million here, a couple of hundred million there, and pretty soon - as Senator Everett Dirksen once famously said, you're talking about real money…
