一
直被外界认为是巴菲特(Warren Buffett)头号接班人的大卫•索科尔(David Sokol)从伯克希尔哈撒韦公司(Berkshire Hathaway Inc.)辞职，此前索科尔买了他建议巴菲特收购的一家公司的股票。伯克希尔首席执行长兼董事长巴菲特周三发表声明说，今年1月他们最开始讨论收购交易时，索科尔曾对巴菲特说他自己持有化学公司Lubrizol Corp.的股票。巴菲特说，大卫和我都没觉得他买Lubrizol股票有任何违法的地方，这不是他决定辞职的原因。
Bloomberg News
2010年5月1日，大卫•索科尔(David Sokol)在伯克希尔哈撒韦公司(Berkshire Hathaway Inc.)年会上向股东讲话。
巴菲特说，去年12月14日，索科尔买了2,300股Lubrizol股票，接着在12月21日卖掉了。之后，索科尔又在今年1月初买了96,060股，买盘价格不到每股104美元。
伯克希尔3月14日说，已经同意斥资90亿美元收购Lubrizol，相当于每股135美元。
巴菲特在声明中说，大卫买入Lubrizol股票是在他和我讨论收购事宜之前，他当时并不知道我对他的建议可能有什么反应。巴菲特说，他是在3月19日亚洲之行前不久得知买进股票的规模的。
Bloomberg News
3月24日，巴菲特(Warren Buffett)在印度新德里的一个新闻发布会上听取提问。
此事对现年80岁的巴菲特也可能是沉重一击。巴菲特在选择管理人士时强调人品和正直。他本人就以极高的操守而知名。美国最大的公司之一伯克希尔的股价在盘后交易中大幅下跌。
一份上周提交给监管机构的备案文件详细叙述了收购Lubrizol的交易。文件显示，索科尔确定Lubrizol是一个可能的收购目标，并牵头初步收购谈判。据备案文件说，索科尔从一份包括18家化学公司的名单中选中了Lubrizol，这份名单是花旗环球金融有限公司(Citigroup Global Markets)的银行家们在2010年12月按照索科尔的要求编制的一份潜在收购项目名单。
今年1月，索科尔与Lubrizol首席执行长汉布里克(James Hambrick)会面讨论了两家公司的公司文化，并告诉他伯克希尔提出的收购要约将视他是否同意继续留任首席执行长而定。备案文件说，在汉布里克及Lubrizol董事会同意进行收购谈判之后，巴菲特才开始牵头。
巴菲特在声明中说，索科尔知道一旦他提出收购建议，自己就左右不了伯克希尔的决定了，我和（伯克希尔副董事长）芒格(Charlie Munger)将说了算，并且需获得伯克希尔董事会的批准，而大卫不是董事。
巴菲特说，1月14日，我还给大卫发了一张便条，说明我对收购Lubrizol的质疑，以及我更倾向于收购另外一家有价值的公司，MidAmerican已经对该公司提出了收购要约。在听取了大卫有关1月25日他与汉布里克晚餐谈话的汇报后，我才对收购Lubrizol产生了兴趣。
巴菲特说，近年来，索科尔还有两次曾经试图辞职。
索科尔辞职前担任伯克希尔旗下公共事业公司MidAmerican董事长，并且是提供部分所有权飞机的NetJets公司的董事长兼首席执行长。
巴菲特在周三的声明中说，索科尔做出了非凡的贡献，并以他在MidAmerican 和 NetJets的工作为例，巴菲特说如果没有伯克希尔雄厚资金的支持，NetJets曾注定要破产。
巴菲特说，MidAmerican首席执行长亚伯(Greg Abel)将兼任董事长。NetJets总裁汉塞尔(Jordan Hansell)将担任董事长兼首席执行长。
伯克希尔哈撒韦公司B股股价在消息宣布后的盘后交易中大跌。
ERIK HOLM
（本文版权归道琼斯公司所有，未经许可不得翻译或转载。）
David Sokol, long considered by outsiders to be the most likely candidate to succeed Warren Buffett, resigned from Berkshire Hathaway Inc. after purchasing shares of a company he suggested Mr. Buffett buy.
Mr. Buffett, Berkshire's chief executive and chairman, said in a statement Wednesday that Mr. Sokol had told him he owned shares in the chemical company, Lubrizol Corp., when they first discussed the deal in January. Mr. Buffett said 'neither Dave nor I feel his Lubrizol purchases were in any way unlawful' and weren't a factor in his decision to resign.
Instead, Mr. Buffett said Mr. Sokol wrote in a letter of resignation on March 28 that he wanted to 'invest my family's resources in such a way as to create enduring equity value and hopefully an enterprise which will provide opportunity for my descendents and funding for my philanthropic interests.'
Mr. Sokol purchased 2,300 shares of Lubrizol on Dec. 14, which he then sold on Dec. 21, Mr. Buffett said. He then bought 96,060 shares in early January with an order to pay no more than $104 a share.
Berkshire said March 14 that it had agreed to acquire Lubrizol for $9 billion, or $135 a share.
'Dave's purchases were made before he had discussed Lubrizol with me and with no knowledge of how I might react to his idea,' Mr. Buffett wrote in the statement. Mr. Buffett said he learned of the extent of the stock purchases shortly before beginning a trip to Asia on March 19.
***
The revelations throw into question Mr. Buffett's carefully crafted succession plan, one of America's most widely watched boardroom dramas. Berkshire has said it has identified four executives at the company who could replace him. Mr. Sokol has long been considered high on that short list.
The incident is also a potential black eye for Mr. Buffett, 80, who emphasizes character and integrity in his manager choices and who himself is known for his ethics. Shares of the conglomerate, one of the nation's biggest companies, declined in after-hours trading.
****
A regulatory filing detailing the Lubrizol purchase indicated last week that Mr. Sokol identified Lubrizol as a potential acquisition and took the lead in early negotiations to buy the company. Mr. Sokol plucked Lubrizol from a list of 18 chemical companies that bankers at Citigroup Global Markets had compiled in December 2010 as possible acquisitions at Mr. Sokol's request, according to the filing.
Mr. Sokol met with Lubrizol's chief executive, James Hambrick, in January to discuss the corporate culture at the two companies, and told him a Berkshire takeover offer would be contingent on Mr. Hambrick's agreeing to stay on as CEO. It was after Mr. Hambrick and his board had agreed to move forward with takeover talks that Mr. Buffett took the lead, the filing said.
Mr. Sokol 'knew he would have no voice in Berkshire's decision once he suggested the idea; it would be up to me and [Berkshire Vice Chairman] Charlie Munger, subject to ratification by the Berkshire Board of which Dave is not a member,' Mr. Buffett said in the statement.
'As late as January 24, I sent Dave a short note indicating my skepticism about making an offer for Lubrizol and my preference for another substantial acquisition for which MidAmerican had made a bid. Only after Dave reported on the January 25 dinner conversation with James Hambrick did I get interested in the acquisition of Lubrizol,' Mr. Buffett wrote.
Mr. Buffett said Mr. Sokol had tried two other times in recent years to resign.
Mr. Sokol had been chairman of Berkshire's MidAmerican utility operations and chairman and CEO of its NetJets fractional plane business.
In his statement Wednesday, Mr. Buffett said Mr. Sokol's 'contributions have been extraordinary,' citing his work at MidAmerican and NetJets, which he described as 'an operation that was destined for bankruptcy, absent Berkshire's deep pockets.'
Greg Abel, the chief executive of MidAmerican Holding Co., will become its chairman, Mr. Buffett said. Jordan Hansell, president of NetJets, will become its chairman and CEO.
Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares fell sharply in after-hours trade after the announcement.
ERIK HOLM
本文涉及股票或公司
Mr. Buffett, Berkshire's chief executive and chairman, said in a statement Wednesday that Mr. Sokol had told him he owned shares in the chemical company, Lubrizol Corp., when they first discussed the deal in January. Mr. Buffett said 'neither Dave nor I feel his Lubrizol purchases were in any way unlawful' and weren't a factor in his decision to resign.
Instead, Mr. Buffett said Mr. Sokol wrote in a letter of resignation on March 28 that he wanted to 'invest my family's resources in such a way as to create enduring equity value and hopefully an enterprise which will provide opportunity for my descendents and funding for my philanthropic interests.'
Mr. Sokol purchased 2,300 shares of Lubrizol on Dec. 14, which he then sold on Dec. 21, Mr. Buffett said. He then bought 96,060 shares in early January with an order to pay no more than $104 a share.
Berkshire said March 14 that it had agreed to acquire Lubrizol for $9 billion, or $135 a share.
'Dave's purchases were made before he had discussed Lubrizol with me and with no knowledge of how I might react to his idea,' Mr. Buffett wrote in the statement. Mr. Buffett said he learned of the extent of the stock purchases shortly before beginning a trip to Asia on March 19.
***
The revelations throw into question Mr. Buffett's carefully crafted succession plan, one of America's most widely watched boardroom dramas. Berkshire has said it has identified four executives at the company who could replace him. Mr. Sokol has long been considered high on that short list.
The incident is also a potential black eye for Mr. Buffett, 80, who emphasizes character and integrity in his manager choices and who himself is known for his ethics. Shares of the conglomerate, one of the nation's biggest companies, declined in after-hours trading.
****
A regulatory filing detailing the Lubrizol purchase indicated last week that Mr. Sokol identified Lubrizol as a potential acquisition and took the lead in early negotiations to buy the company. Mr. Sokol plucked Lubrizol from a list of 18 chemical companies that bankers at Citigroup Global Markets had compiled in December 2010 as possible acquisitions at Mr. Sokol's request, according to the filing.
Mr. Sokol met with Lubrizol's chief executive, James Hambrick, in January to discuss the corporate culture at the two companies, and told him a Berkshire takeover offer would be contingent on Mr. Hambrick's agreeing to stay on as CEO. It was after Mr. Hambrick and his board had agreed to move forward with takeover talks that Mr. Buffett took the lead, the filing said.
Mr. Sokol 'knew he would have no voice in Berkshire's decision once he suggested the idea; it would be up to me and [Berkshire Vice Chairman] Charlie Munger, subject to ratification by the Berkshire Board of which Dave is not a member,' Mr. Buffett said in the statement.
'As late as January 24, I sent Dave a short note indicating my skepticism about making an offer for Lubrizol and my preference for another substantial acquisition for which MidAmerican had made a bid. Only after Dave reported on the January 25 dinner conversation with James Hambrick did I get interested in the acquisition of Lubrizol,' Mr. Buffett wrote.
Mr. Buffett said Mr. Sokol had tried two other times in recent years to resign.
Mr. Sokol had been chairman of Berkshire's MidAmerican utility operations and chairman and CEO of its NetJets fractional plane business.
In his statement Wednesday, Mr. Buffett said Mr. Sokol's 'contributions have been extraordinary,' citing his work at MidAmerican and NetJets, which he described as 'an operation that was destined for bankruptcy, absent Berkshire's deep pockets.'
Greg Abel, the chief executive of MidAmerican Holding Co., will become its chairman, Mr. Buffett said. Jordan Hansell, president of NetJets, will become its chairman and CEO.
Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares fell sharply in after-hours trade after the announcement.
ERIK HOLM
本文涉及股票或公司
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