Buffett Meets With European Business Owners

Billionaire Warren Buffett meets today with business owners in Frankfurt as he looks outside America for acquisitions to spur profit growth at his $200 billion Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

The world's wealthiest person, starting a four-city European tour in Germany's financial capital, is seeking to form relationships that may lead to purchases by his Omaha, Neb.-based investment and holding company.

"If you have a great business, it's best to not sell it," Mr. Buffett told reporters at the Berkshire annual meeting earlier this month. "But when the time comes, whether for taxes or siblings, we want to be the first ones they think of."

Berkshire has $35 billion in cash and Mr. Buffett, 77, has been looking for places to put it. He's invested in China, Israel, and Britain, complaining that there's a dearth of American investment opportunities for a company as large as Berkshire.

Mr. Buffett owns about a third of Berkshire, which he built over four decades from a failing maker of men's suit linings into a company with businesses that range from candy-making to insurance and a $72.6 billion stock portfolio.