Berkshire Tokio Marine Stake Builds Deeper Insurance Partnership

Berkshire Tokio Marine stake plans will see Berkshire Hathaway buy a 2.49% holding in Japanese insurer Tokio Marine Holdings for about USD1.8bn as part of a strategic partnership in reinsurance and global investments.

Tokio Marine will sell about 48.2 million treasury shares to National Indemnity, one of Berkshire’s reinsurance units, while Berkshire may lift its stake to 9.9% through market purchases without board approval.

Tokio Marine said it would use up to JPY287.4bn of proceeds to buy back shares and avoid dilution.

The Berkshire Tokio Marine stake is expected to add long-term risk capacity and support underwriting stability.