By SHIRA OVIDE
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Chief Executive Warren Buffett said he doesn't like the structure of a recent $21.5 billion acquisition announced by Johnson & Johnson, in which Berkshire owns a stake.
"I'd like the deal a whole lot better if it were all for cash," Mr. Buffett said at the annual meeting of Berkshire investors, in response to a shareholder question about the agreed-upon acquisition. Mr. Buffett said he hadn't talked to anyone at J&J management about the deal.
A J&J spokesman declined to comment on Mr. Buffett's remarks.
This week, J&J announced it agreed to buy Synthes Inc., a Swiss medical-device maker, for roughly one-third cash and the rest in J&J shares. Mr. Buffett has said he is reluctant to issue Berkshire shares in his own company's acquisitions. If a company's stock isn't overvalued, he said, it's unwise to issue the stock in deal making. Mr. Buffett made an exception for last year's acquisition of railroad operator Burlington Northern Santa Fe.
Berkshire owns about 1.56% of J&J's stock, according to LionShares, making Buffett's company the fourth-biggest holder of J&J shares.
Mr. Buffett previously has criticized companies in which he invests for issuing their stock in deals. Mr. Buffett, for example, last year publicly opposed Kraft Foods Inc.'s plan to issue new stock to pay for an acquisition of U.K. candy maker Cadbury PLC. He urged other Kraft shareholders to oppose the plan as well. Kraft closed the $19.4 billion Cadbury deal over Mr. Buffett's opposition.
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