I don’t know about most of these names, but Buffett has been salivating over Mars (which now owns Wrigley plus many other names) for his whole adult life. Several shareholder letters over the years have alluded to the powerful positions held by Mars and Wrigley. You may recall that in Oct 2008, Berkshire provided funding to help Mars acquire Wrigley during the financial crisis. Mars completed their ownership of Wrigley in 2016 by buying out BRK’s remaining stake, praising BRK for their role.

While BRK made good money with the deal, I felt at the time that Buffett’s no-so-hidden-agenda was to be positioned to get the first call if the Mars family ever decided to sell. He would never prevail in a traditional auction, with so much PE money looking for a deal, and as far as I know the Mars family has always wanted complete control. Another concern is whether they would be as comfortable with Greg as they might be with Warren. But if – IF - the day arrives when they elect to sell, and if they select their next owner with as much wisdom as they have applied to their business over generations, then perhaps it will join the BRK set of operating companies.