The British stock market's biggest riddle was solved yesterday when Allied Domecq plc said legendary US billionaire investor Mr Warren Buffett had bought 2.2 per cent of the drinks group.
"We can confirm a stake in the name of Berkshire Hathaway (Buffett's investment vehicle)," said a spokesman. "This emerged out of one of our routine inquiries... We put out a `212' notice to nominee holdings to ask which investor was behind the nominee holding."
Buffett, viewed as the world's most successful investor, revealed last month that his Omaha-based Berkshire Hathaway company, with a war-chest worth $15 billion (€14.04 billion), had started buying into a British company.
Ever since then, the market has been on tenterhooks as financial players placed big bets on which share the "Sage of Omaha" had chosen to buy.
Shares in Allied, which had been viewed as a likely selection for Buffett, given his liking for strong brands, jumped on yesterday's news.
Buffett's stake in the British company - whose brands include Ballantine's scotch whisky, Beefeater gin and Kahlua liqueur - is worth around £125 million. Under London Stock Exchange rules, Buffett does not have to disclose any stake until he owns three per cent of a company.
However, Allied exercised its right to put out a `212' notice, requesting a shareholder to reveal its identity. The company found that Berkshire Hathaway had nearly 22.8 million shares on April 19th.
Allied is currently in talks with Whitbread plc to sell it its pubs and all other retail interests for £2.3 billion. The deal would allow Allied to concentrate on drinks and fast food.
Other companies which had been mentioned as possible targets for Buffett had included British Airways, Cadbury Schweppes, Marks & Spencer and Unilever.
