Berkshire Hathaway Invests $20M in Telecom

OMAHA, Neb., May 16 -- The Associated Press (AP) reported today that billionaire investor Warren Buffett has purchased $20 million of stock in a fiber optic communications company, at least the second such company that he has invested in.

The AP said, "A filing Thursday with the Securities and Exchange Commission showed Buffett's investment vehicle Berkshire Hathaway Inc. bought 1.59 million shares in WilTel Communications Group of Tulsa, Okla., sending the company's shares soaring." Berkshire also reported holding 879,000 shares in fiber optic network company Level 3 Communications Inc. of Broomfield, Colo., worth $4.5 million as of March 31, the article said.

WilTel has built a 33,000-mile fiber optic network that has connected 125 cities on five continents. Level 3 has built a 20,000-mile worldwide network.

The AP said although the telecommunications industry "has struggled under a glut of bandwidth, Buffett has expressed confidence in Level 3's resources and financial backing."
Level 3 is a 1998 spinoff of Omaha-based construction giant Peter Kiewit Sons Inc. Level 3's chairman is Walter Scott Jr., chairman emeritus of Kiewit and a member of Berkshire's board of directors.

For more information, visit: www.berkshirehathaway.com