OMAHA, Nebraska (Reuters) – Warren Buffett said he had made a mistake by not asking more about David Sokol’s purchases of Lubrizol Corp stock while his former top lieutenant was pitching the chemicals company as a possible takeover target for Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
Sokol was widely considered a leading candidate to succeed Buffett as Berkshire’s chief executive, but he resigned last month after it was revealed that he had bought $10 million of shares in Lubrizol. Sokol got a roughly $3 million profit on that stake when Berkshire agreed to buy Lubrizol.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is probing Sokol, a person familiar with the matter has said, and the controversy has put Buffett’s management style into question.
Speaking on Saturday to shareholders from the stage at Berkshire’s annual meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, Buffett said he should have probed more deeply when Sokol first revealed in January that he owned Lubrizol stock.
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