Sep 24, 2003 (The Denver Post - Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News via COMTEX) -- Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc., the most notable of Level 3 Communications' white-knight investors, disclosed Tuesday it unloaded half of its stake in the company by the end of the second quarter.
Berkshire received roughly 36.7 million shares of Level 3 in mid-June when Level 3 converted notes held by the Omaha-based investment powerhouse into stock. That assumes some of Buffett's notes were not among a few converted by Level 3 earlier, something that is not publicly disclosed.
By June 30, Berkshire held only 19.9 million Level 3 shares, according to its Tuesday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. That means Berkshire sold 16.8 million Level 3 shares -- nearly 46 percent of its stake -- in the final 12 days of June.
Some analysts speculate Buffett has continued unloading Level 3 stock -- which has declined steadily since the conversion of Berkshire's bonds into shares -- in the third quarter. Berkshire doesn't have to report post-June 30 activity to the SEC until after this month.
"Looking at the relative direction of the stock price while all communications stocks have been generally up, the inference would be that he may have continued to be a net seller," said Tom Friedberg, an analyst with Janco Partners in Denver.
A Level 3 spokesman declined to comment Tuesday. Berkshire representatives did not return a phone message seeking comment.
Level 3 shares, which closed at $4.79 on Tuesday, have declined since touching close to $7.50 in May and June.
Broomfield-based Level 3 operates a global, fiber-optic communications network and resells corporate software. The company employs 5,500 people globally, including 3,000 in Colorado.
Two other big-name investors that had their Level 3 bonds converted to stock in June -- Legg Mason and Longleaf Partners Funds -- have held most of their shares.
Speculation has bubbled in recent months concerning whether Buffett -- a friend of Level 3 founder and chairman Walter Scott -- held his stock or dumped it in a lucrative flip atypical of his buy-and-hold reputation. Berkshire's filing on Tuesday provided the first glimpse at its early moves with the Level 3 stake.
Some analysts say Buffett's decision to break from his buy-and-hold habit will prove wise concerning Level 3.
"He's not just a brilliant investor, he's a tremendous trader in this thing"says Rock
Rock means Buffett knew his association with Level 3 would boost the company's stock, pushing it well above the $3.41 conversion benchmark.
Buffett also has been rumored as a buyer of Level 3's junk bonds in the past year. The value of those bonds has jumped markedly, due partly to Buffett's public purchase of the convertible bonds.