Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) noted recently that he's shopping for properties outside the U.S. With this week's purchase of two American jewelry companies, Berkshire has become the nation's largest jeweler. Is it planning to use this as a platform to integrate foreign acquisitions in the pretties market?Berkshire announced that it is buying two of the country's largest gold importers/distributors, Aurafin LLC and Bel-Oro International, and will merge them, forming the Richline Group. This new company will be the largest distributor of gold jewelry in the U.S. Berkshire already owns Ben Bridge Jewelers, Borsheim's Fine Jewelry, and Helzberg Diamonds.
The industy has seen declining margins and dramatically climbing costs, due to the spike in gold prices. While in the short term this would speak against the market, Berkshire could be positioning themselves to snatch up some lagging properties, especially abroad. The jewelry industry is still comprised of many smaller players, and by combining a number of them Berkshire may be able to create a few gems.
The downside is that, since the players are relatively small, a lot of time and energy might be required to grow this sector to a size that could impact the Berkshire Hathaway bottom line.
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