market folly

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has submitted a couple of Form 4's with the SEC regarding its position in Liberty Sirius XM (LSXMA / LSXMK). 

Per the filings, Berkshire was out buying both the Series C stock (LSXMK) and the Series A stock (LSXMA).  They purchased over 3.87 million LSXMK shares across April 20th, 21st, and 24th at weighted average prices between $38.7043 and $40.62.  After these buys, Berkshire now owns 27.23 million shares of LSXMK.

They also bought over 2.47 million LSXMA shares in total across the same dates at weighted average prices between $38.6046 and $40.795.  After these buys, they now own over 13.15 million LSXMA shares.

Liberty Media's Greg Maffei also tweeted: "Nice to have Berkshire, Warren B, and Ted Weschler step up their $LSXMA investment.  Thanks.  $SIRI. #hearmysiri." And then followed it up with: "Forgot to bow to altar: $BRK.A #OmahaRules."

Given that Ted Weschler was mentioned as the investor involved in this name, it seems natural to draw similarities to a past position of his.  At his old hedge fund Peninsula, Weschler previously owned DirecTV and a large part of the thesis there was a levered buyback.  Given that Sirius XM seems to be following a similar playbook, it seems plausible that this is one of the reasons Weschler is attracted to this name as there are some similarities.  Not to mention, Sirius XM has grown subscribers consistently over the past 7 years.

Per Google Finance, Liberty Sirius XM "owns interests in subsidiaries and other companies, which are engaged in the media and entertainment industries. The Company's principal businesses and assets include its consolidated subsidiaries Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (SIRIUS XM) and Braves Holdings, LLC (Braves Holdings), and its equity affiliate Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (Live Nation). The Company's segments are SIRIUS XM, and Corporate and other. SIRIUS XM provides a subscription-based satellite radio service. Through its subsidiaries and affiliates, the Company principally operates in North America. The Company also owns a portfolio of minority equity investments in publicly traded media companies, including Time Warner, Inc. and Viacom, Inc. SIRIUS XM transmits music, sports, entertainment, comedy, talk, news, traffic and weather channels, as well as infotainment services, in the United States on a subscription fee basis through two satellite radio systems. "