Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) Stock Takes $1.8 Billion Stake in Japan’s Tokio Marine

TLDR

• Berkshire Hathaway will buy a 2.5% stake in Tokio Marine Holdings for $1.8 billion via its National Indemnity unit.
• The deal involves around 48 million treasury shares sold directly by the Japanese insurer.
• National Indemnity will join Tokio Marine’s reinsurance panel and take on part of its portfolio.
• Berkshire’s ownership is capped at 9.9% without Tokio Marine board approval.
• Tokio Marine plans to buy back stock with the proceeds to protect existing shareholders from dilution.

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Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway is deepening its bet on Japan. The company announced plans to acquire a 2.5% stake in Tokio Marine Holdings for roughly $1.8 billion, forming a new strategic partnership with one of Japan’s largest insurers.

The deal will be executed through Berkshire’s reinsurance arm, National Indemnity. Tokio Marine will sell around 48 million treasury shares directly to National Indemnity, rather than through open-market purchases.

The two companies have also agreed to a reinsurance collaboration. National Indemnity will join Tokio Marine’s reinsurance panel and take on a portion of its portfolio through a quota share agreement.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc., BRK-B

Tokio Marine said the tie-up is designed to reduce earnings volatility, particularly from natural catastrophe exposure. The partnership is meant to combine Tokio Marine’s M&A experience with Berkshire’s substantial capital base.

Tokio Marine’s stock trades in Japan at around 5,800 yen per share. The company carries a market value of close to $70 billion and also trades in the U.S. under the ticker TKOMY.

Buffett’s Japan Strategy Gets a New Chapter

This marks a notable expansion of Berkshire’s Japanese footprint. The investment giant already holds roughly 10% stakes in five major Japanese trading houses — Mitsubishi, Itochu, Mitsui and others — worth around $35 billion at the end of 2025.

Berkshire first began buying into those trading companies back in July 2019. Buffett has repeatedly praised their approach to capital allocation and shareholder returns. The Tokio Marine move follows that same logic into the insurance sector.

Ajit Jain, vice chairman of Berkshire’s insurance operations, said both organizations expect the partnership to generate “compelling long-term opportunities.” Tokio Marine CEO Masahiro Koike echoed that, calling it a “major step forward” in delivering long-term value.

Guardrails Built In

The deal comes with limits. Berkshire has agreed not to take its stake above 9.9% without prior approval from Tokio Marine’s board.

Any purchases beyond the initial 2.5% would also need to happen through open-market buying, not direct share sales from the company.

National Indemnity has also agreed to vote its shares in line with Tokio Marine’s recommendations — a condition that gives the Japanese insurer meaningful control over how the new shareholder behaves.

To protect current investors from dilution, Tokio Marine plans to use the proceeds from the share sale to fund a buyback program.

Tokio Marine has been sitting on capital following a push by the Japanese government to unwind cross-shareholdings — the practice of insurers and corporates holding stakes in each other. CEO Koike said late last year that the company was looking to deploy around $10 billion from those sales into acquisitions and growth investments.

The Berkshire deal gives it a deep-pocketed partner to do exactly that.

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