Warren Buffett is to end his 40-year relationship with the Washington Post. The US billionaire investor's company, Berkshire Hathaway, has agreed to give back the bulk of its 28% ownership stake in Graham Holdings, the Post's former parent.
In return, he will get Graham's Miami-based television station, Berkshire shares held by Graham and £197m in cash. The details of the swap, found in documents filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, suggest the total deal amounts to about £737m.
Buffett, who has been a Post shareholder since 1973, was once a director and a confidant of its most notable chief, Katharine Graham.
Buffett is quoted, here and here, as describing it as "a mutually beneficial transaction for both companies."
Graham's chief executive, Donald Graham, agreed: "Warren Buffett's 40-year association with our company has been extremely good for our shareholders."
The deal follows the Graham family's sale of the Post newspaper to Amazon's founder, Jeff Bezos, last summer.
Graham now owns the Kaplan education group and five local US TV stations (if the Miami sale goes through), a cable operator and the online news site, Slate, plus a variety of smaller ventures.
Sources: Wall Street Journal/Financial Times
