Berkshire buys Taylor Morrison for $6.8 billion. Buffett touts Abel’s dealmaking
What happened
Berkshire Hathaway agreed to acquire Taylor Morrison (TMHC) for $72.50/share in cash (~$6.8B), a significant premium to the current ~$58.50 price, marking Greg Abel's first major deal as Berkshire CEO. The ~24% spread to the announced deal price creates a clean merger-arb setup in TMHC, though deal-close timeline and regulatory risk set the guardrails.
The read · Jun 1
Long TMHC to close the ~$14 merger-arb gap to the $72.50 Berkshire cash takeout; consensus is 10B/3SB vs.
Wrong if
Deal break or extended DOJ/FTC antitrust review dragging timeline well past 6 months; a broader homebuilder sector selloff could also pressure the arb if the deal is re-priced or if market-out clauses are triggered.
CoverageSource: CNBC · Published here MON, JUN 1 · 6:18 AM ET · the only report in this recordHow this is decided →
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The story1 min read
The read, in full
Long TMHC to close the ~$14 merger-arb gap to the $72.50 Berkshire cash takeout; consensus is 10B/3SB vs. only 2S, making this a hard-to-fade arb with a cash acquirer.
Why it matters
Berkshire's $72.50 all-cash bid for TMHC represents a ~24% premium to the current ~$58.50 price. Cash deals with a creditworthy acquirer (Berkshire) carry minimal financing risk, and the strong analyst consensus (10 Buy/3 Strong Buy vs. 2 Sell) signals the buy-side already viewed TMHC as undervalued pre-deal. The spread exists primarily due to time-value and regulatory uncertainty, not deal-break risk — Berkshire's pristine balance sheet and track record of clean closes argue for a tight stop and patient hold to $72.50.
The arc● Open · no developments yet
· Published
The read above, as written. kept as written · closes shown from JUN 1 on
Next · what would move this
Deal close, likely 3-6 months. Follow to be told when one lands.
Since this story · named here, equal weight · 1D EOD+2.8%
JUN 1 · first close after publicationJUL 23
Price context does not establish that the story caused the move.
Receipts
CNBC — the original6:18 AM
Research, not advice.
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