Maybe at the margin PE has cost Berkshire some acquisitions but I kind of believe that the family-owned businesses that would want to be acquired by Berkshire wouldn't also consider private equity buyout. Especially if the founder-owner cares about his legacy, employees, customers etc. Rather, I think from the Pilot acquisition Berkshire was somewhat taken advantage of by the family owner and if Pilot had sold to PE they probably wouldn't have gotten as much or had as unique a deal structure.

I certainly don't think that Berkshire will be buying companies that private equity funds are trying to exit. But that could be a possibility if the right asset comes along, Greg does tons of due diligence, and the price is right.

From a recent FT story on private equity logjam

Financial Times: Giftarticle Actions Redeem

"Private equity groups built up a record backlog of almost $4tn in unsold investments last year, even as dealmaking started to revive after a years-long downturn.

The value of companies sitting in buyout funds increased by 3 per cent to $3.8tn in 2025, according to a report from consultancy Bain & Company, despite more than $700bn of exits during the year."