Warren Buffett is no dummy. We all know that, and he proved it once again this week upon the release of his letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders. He addresses many of the concerns bouncing around the industry regarding a non-automotive investor taking over a large dealership group, and he does so subtly, yet brilliantly.
I dissect that shareholder letter in this issue and talk to some buy sell experts about its significance.
Just before I sat down to write this column, I was reading a piece in The Economist about the problems that are holding Brazil back. One issue: Of the firms with annual sales of more than $1 billion, 2/3 are family-owned. When selecting management, those firms tend to choose family over professionalism, “and performance suffers,” says The Economist.
That reminded me of this week’s column by David Weaver of Rawl’s Group. He suggests that family-owned groups consider looking outside for help to ensure family members are well-prepared to take over the business.
We also have the popular Transaction News, of course.
Enjoy!
Alysha Webb, Editor and Publisher
