From 24/7 Wall Street:
Warrant Watch: Wells Fargo, Uncle Sam, Mr. Buffett (WFC, BRK-B, BRK-A)
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is trying to signal that it can hold its own by buying out what could have been dilution from Uncle Sam selling warrants held. The Treasury will take in net proceeds of about $840.4 million from its sale of warrants, a ‘bonus’ for taxpayers, after selling the 110.3 million outstanding warrants.Wells Fargo acquired 70.2 million warrants to purchase its common stock in an auction conducted on behalf of the U.S. Treasury by Deutsche Bank Securities yesterday. These warrants were issued by the company to the U.S. Treasury as part of its investment in Wells Fargo under the Capital Purchase Program.
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-B, BRK-A) is Wells Fargo’s largest holder and Warren Buffett has been Wells Fargo’s biggest fan during the whole bust. It will be interesting to see if Mr. Buffett decided to participate in that auction to buy more Wells Fargo exposure on the cheap....MORE
