Warren Buffett Takes Stake in Lanxess

Berkshire Hathaway, the conglomerate headed by American billionaire Warren Buffett, has taken a 3% stake in Germany’s Lanxess. A statement filed with the Frankfurt stock exchange on May 29 said Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary General Reinsurance purchased the stake on May 19. The move puts the US investor among the company’s top six shareholders.

Bloomberg news agency said Berkshire Hathaway has been pursuing investments in Germany and had agreed earlier this year to buy Wilhelm Schulz, a manufacturer of piping components based in Krefeld. The Omaha, Nebraska-headquartered holding group also owns 100% of US specialty chemicals company, Lubrizol.

Lanxess finalized last month its $2.4 billion purchase of US specialty chemicals producer, Chemtura, a move which boosts the German group’s annual turnover to €9.2 billion. Chemtura will be known as Lanxess Solutions US.