Overview
- Berkshire agreed to buy $10 billion of Alphabet shares through a private placement as part of an roughly $80 billion equity offering that Alphabet is running to raise cash.
- The deal splits into $5 billion of A shares at $351.81 and $5 billion of C shares at $348.20, prices that were about 7% below immediate pre‑announcement levels but more than 20% above Berkshire's Q1 closing cost basis.
- Those new commitments add to nearly $17 billion of Alphabet purchases Berkshire made over the past three quarters and will make Alphabet one of the company’s largest public holdings.
- Alphabet says the offering will help fund heavy AI and data‑center spending, with capital expenditures of roughly $180–$190 billion planned this year and higher plans for 2027.
- Critics warn the move signals a faster, more concentrated investment style under CEO Greg Abel and raise questions about paying up for exposure to AI projects with uncertain near‑term returns and how the trade fits Berkshire's long‑run allocation strategy.