Dive Brief:
- Marmon Group LLC, the industrial arm of billionaire Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, will acquire the drink dispensing and merchandising units of IMI in at $1.1 billion -- expanding Buffett's investments in food service and retail.
- IMI's drink-dispensing unit makes machines that serve soda for convenience stores, cafeterias, hospitals, etc. The merchandising business designs product displays for use in retail stores.
Dive Insight:
One thing we would never do is argue with the investment strategies of Warren Buffett. And in the case of the IMI purchases, there's no reason to do so anyway. These are sensible investments that add to Marmon's existing business. In fact, it's worth noting that Buffett appears intent on becoming the major force in these sectors. In foodservice, Marmon already owns Prince Castle LLC, Silver King and Unarco Industries LLC. And in retail fixtures, Marmon already owns Eden, L.A. Darling, Leader Metal Industry Co., Store Opening Solutions, Streater LLC, Thorco Industries, and Wells Lamont Retail Group.