Buffett says he 'struck out' in 2004

OMAHA, Neb. - The mighty billionaire Warren Buffett says he has “struck out.”

The CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. wrote in his annual report Saturday that he had hoped to make several multibillion-dollar acquisitions in 2004. He certainly had the money, so the problem? None to buy, he said.

“I found very few attractive securities to buy,” Buffett wrote in his company’s 40th annual report. Berkshire ended the year with $43 billion of cash equivalents, something he called “not a happy position.”

The bulk of the letter was positive, and the 74-year-old investment icon said he and Vice Chairman Charlie Munger would not be deterred.

“Charlie and I will work to translate some of this hoard into more interesting assets during 2005, though we can’t promise success,” he wrote.

Buffett, known widely as the “Oracle of Omaha” for his insight into all things financial, was mum on the subject of an investigation of alleged bid-rigging and price-fixing in the insurance industry by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. Buffett received a subpoena in January and has said he would cooperate. His insurance holdings include auto insurer Geico.

It’s no surprise he wasn’t able to find any companies to acquire last year, because it’s a seller’s market and there’s a lot of activity in mergers and acquisitions, said Steve Kaplan, a professor at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business.

“He won’t find anything this year either,” Kaplan said. “Since he likes to buy things cheap, it’s harder to find.”

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