Subject: Re: Buybacks have begun
There are two problems that I can spot.

First, this is now a very crowded field. There are many, many BDCs and PE folks trying to buy good cash flow generating firms of small/medium/biggish size. So much so that the average quality of listed small firms has fallen through the floor...there is no longer a pipeline of good ones. In short, the goods on offer aren't great and the prices are high.

Sure, but Bloomberg tells me there are 19,000 privately held companies with revenues between $100 million and $500 million in the US alone. Somewhere in that 19,000, (or at least twice that if worldwide companies were included) there must be some overlooked gems,the kind that Buffett used to find - or which came to him because of reputation. Is it possible, is it even conceivable that there are none of those which might fit into a widely diversified collection of companies which keeps hands off local management, yet provides sufficient capital backstop for them to satisfy their needs?

Are none of those people retiring? That would seem odd that it happened with some regularity a few years ago and doesn’t happen at all now. Or is it that the “move the needle” target is so high that they are overlooked in today’s age? (I note that Nebraska Furniture Mart revenue was around $100 million when acquired in 1983. That’s roughly my $300m threshold, inflation adjusted.)

And second, who would run such a thing? I'm sure a younger Mr Buffett could do a smashing job even in this overpriced market, but he is is short supply.

That’s why they have “divisions” in large companies. GE had’em. Westinghouse had’em. Do that, or maybe make two Baby Berkshires (both report to Greg) or something. I realize I’m building layers, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. Or else you’re just sitting there stacking up the Benjamins, good for today, mediocre for tomorrow.