Berkshire on the lookout for another Heinz

“If we get a chance to buy another Heinz, we will do that,” Buffett said.

Berkshire likes the ketchup maker’s business, the deal’s $23bn price, and its partner in the transaction, private equity firm 3G Capital, Buffett said.

“We hope to own Heinz 100 years from now,” Buffett said. “If you own great brands and you take care of them, they’re terrific assets.”

Buffett said he is not currently eyeing another consumer products company, but is looking at a possible deal in a sector he would not disclose. After a recent binge of buying newspapers, he said he is not interested in buying the Chicago Tribune or the Los Angeles Times from the Tribune.

After the Heinz purchase was announced, the US Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit against unnamed traders the agency said used a Goldman Sachs account in Switzerland to trade on purported inside knowledge of the transaction.

Buffett said Berkshire likes to move quickly on deals to avoid information leaks, and said he could “guarantee” the person who made questionable options trades ahead of the deal was acting on inside information.

“They will nail that guy, and they should,” he said.

In his annual letter to shareholders last Friday, Buffett said Berkshire may end a long streak of outperforming the S&P 500 this year. For the first time, the growth in Berkshire’s book value per share may underperform the growth in the S&P 500 when measured over a five-year period, he added.

Buffett said he will be giving Berkshire money managers Todd Combs and Ted Weschler more money to invest after a successful year. As of March 31, they will both manage about $6bn each, up from $5bn apiece, Buffett said.

“Todd and Ted are young and will be around to manage Berkshire’s massive portfolio long after (Berkshire Vice Chairman) Charlie (Munger) and I have left the scene,” Buffett wrote in the letter.

“You can rest easy when they take over.”