Warren Buffett’s investment company Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A)(BRK.B) disclosed its position of 1.6 million shares in Lee Enterprises (LEE). This position is worth $2.1 million as of March 31, 2012.
Berkshire intended to keep the position confidential initially. But the request of keeping this confidential was rejected by SEC. Berkshire disclosed this position yesterday.
Lee is a provider of local news, information and advertising in primarily midize markets, with 48 daily newspapers and a joint interest in four others. It owns nearly 300 specialty publications in 23 states. In the latest shareholder meeting, Buffett said that the local newspaper will do ok in the digital age. He also bought newspapers from Media General (MEG) lately. The stock of LEE closed yesterday at $1.15. It has lost 95% of its market value over the past 5 years. The stock is up more than 30% today.
In the past Warren Buffett had kept the positions while he was accumulating confidential. He did this with Burlington Northern and IBM (IBM). Eventually Berkshire bought all of the shares of Burlington Northern. Today LEE has a market cap of only $58 million, which is extremely small compared with the other investments Warren Buffett usually makes. Since Buffett tried to keep it confidential, it is conceivable that he will continue to buy the shares.
To learn more about LEE, please read History of Lee Enterprises - Buffett is a 4% Owner of My Newspaper Company.
Apparently LEE is a cigar butt investment that Buffett does not do that much these days. What drives him to buy newspapers these days? Is Buffett Way Off Base On Newspapers?
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