Berkshire cuts Wells Fargo stake to under 10%

New York

WARREN Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc is cutting its stake in Wells Fargo & Co to less than 10 per cent after the Federal Reserve told the billionaire's company that remaining above that threshold would limit its ability to do business with the bank.

Berkshire sold 7.13 million shares of Wells Fargo this week and plans to divest an additional 1.87 million in the near future, the Omaha, Nebraska-based company said on Wednesday in a statement. Mr Buffett's company oversaw about 500 million shares as at Dec 31, valued at more than US$27 billion at the time, according to Berkshire's annual report.