Billionaire investor Warren Buffett said his investment in Tesco Plc was a "huge mistake," as the supermarket leader's share price remains close to an 11- year low amid declining sales and an accounting probe.
“I made a mistake on that one,” Mr Buffett, 84, said in an interview with CNBC today. “That was a huge mistake by me.”
Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has held Tesco shares since March 2006, when it acquired a stake for $328.7 million. By 2012, the holding had reached 5.08 per cent of the grocer's shares, worth about £1.3 billion (€1.7 billion) . More recently, Mr Buffett has been cutting the stake, owning 3.7 per cent of the shares as of December 31st, according to Berkshire Hathaway's annual report.
The holding's value has slumped in the past year as Tesco has lowered its profit outlook amid a shift by shoppers toward discount and upscale chains. The shares are down 49 per cent in the past 12 months, slumping 17 per cent last week after new chief executive Dave Lewis started an investigation of accounting practices and suspended four executives after finding that Tesco overstated first-half profit estimates.
-Bloomberg
