
In mid-June, Warren Buffett’s holding company, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B), confirmed that it had increased its ownership stake in the top five Japanese trading houses to 8.5%.
Ultimately, it plans to increase its stake for each of Itochu (ITOCY), Marubeni (MARUY), Mitsubishi Corp. (MSBHF), Mitsui & Co. (MITSY), and Sumitomo (SSUMY) to 9.9%. Together, the five companies have a market cap of $245.2 billion, about one-third the size of Berkshire Hathaway.