Investment guru Warren Buffett has sold more shares of Constellation Energy Group Inc., part of a stake he received as break-up fees for an aborted buyout of the company last year.
According to regulatory documents filed Monday, Buffett sold off approximately 2.4 million shares of Constellation in the last three weeks, leaving him with 14,831,107 shares or 7.45 percent of the company.
Buffett received just under 20 million shares, or a 10 percent stake in Constellation in December for terminating a $4.7 billion buyout of the company. But last month Buffett sold off 2.67 million of those shares, leaving him with 8.65 percent of Constellation stock.
According to Securities and Exchange Commission filings, since the beginning of the year Buffett has netted just under $137 million for selling Constellation shares, in addition to a $593 million cash payment from the company for canceling the merger.
Buffett may continue to sell his shares in the company and maintain only a nominal stake, said Paul Larsen, editor of Chicago-based investment research firm Morningstar’s StockInvestor newsletter.
“When Buffett first started putting money into the stock É it was to buy the entire company,” Larsen said. “Now the prospect of buying the company is off the table.”
– Aaron Cahall
