OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Berkshire Hathaway’s new CEO Greg Abel hinted that he may depart from Warren Buffett’s longtime hands-off operating model at the conglomerate as he announced a $6.8 billion acquisition of homebuilder Taylor Morrison. Abel suggested in the deal announcement he plans to consolidate Taylor Morrison with Berkshire’s exisiting site-built homebuilding operations that are part of its Clayton Homes subsidiary. For six decades under Buffett, Berkshire promised to largely leave companies alone after it acquired them and allow the executives to keep running the day-to-day operations the same way.“We are excited to welcome Taylor Morrison into Berkshire’s portfolio, reflecting our long-standing commitment to housing, exemplified by Clayton Homes and our other building products businesses. Over time, we expect to unify our site-built homebuilding operations into a combined platform enabling us to deliver the dream of homeownership to more Americans,” Abel said in the announcement.
In addition to Clayton, which specializes in manufactured homes but also has a site-built unit, Berkshire also owns several other housing related businesses including Benjamin Moore paint and Shaw Floors.
