Warren Buffett -- who is the second richest man in the world, valued at $75.6 billion according to Forbes' 2017 list -- has made another huge purchase. His massive conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway, which is worth hundreds of billions of dollars in its own right, bought Texas power transmitter company Oncor for $9 billion. Also, retailer Sears has had to close even more stores.
Buffett's big purchase of Oncor
The all-cash, $9 billion purchase of Oncor by Berkshire Hathaway represents one of the largest that Warren Buffet has ever made. Berkshire will acquire a reorganized Energy Future Holdings Corporation, which will eventually lead to a buyout of Oncor.
Energy Future is the parent company of Oncor and descended into bankruptcy in 2014 after being over $40 billion in debt following a plunge in energy prices. This deal only adds to Berkshire Hathaway's large presence in Texas, as Dallas-based Oncor serves around 10 million people and is the largest regulated utility in the state.
Could Buffett be challenged for Oncor?
Berkshire Hathaway's deal for Oncor will still have to get approved in bankruptcy court, as well as state and federal approval before the deal is official. As of right now, the deal is expected to be officially approved and closed by the fourth quarter. At the state level, the deal needs to be approved by the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT), which has stopped two previous takeover bids since 2016.
Another challenge comes in an exclusive report from Reuters that Elliot Management Corp, the largest creditor of bankrupt Energy Future, is looking into putting in a deal that would top Buffett's $9 billion. This would be a rare challenge to Buffett, who does not like getting into bidding wars.
Sears closes 43 more stores
Sears Holdings Corporation announced that it will continue its steady rate of closure by shutting down 35 Kmart locations and 8 Sears locations across the country.
These include four Kmarts in Florida and three in Ohio, along with three Sears locations in Indiana. Sears has found itself in a continuous crisis that has seen several rounds of store closures in 2017.
With this latest announcement, over 300 Sears and Kmart stores have been closed this year. Despite still having more than 1,000 locations, Sears, like many retailers across America, has struggled mightily in recent years with the massive switch to online shopping and by failing to reinvent their brick-and-mortar experience.
