Berkshire unit quietly sells door-to-door vacuum cleaner company

Without any fanfare, Berkshire Hathaway's Scott Fetzer subsidiary has sold the Kirby Company to Right Lane Capital, a Chicago private equity firm that says it "focuses on overlooked or complicated situations that other investors often regard as 'too difficult.'"

Cleveland-based Kirby makes "home cleaning systems" that "do more than just vacuum."

Since 1920, they're only been sold through "in-home demonstrations" by authorized, but independent, distributors.

After Berkshire bought Scott Fetzer in 1986, Warren Buffett wrote in his annual letter to shareholders that while "the Kirby product is more expensive than most  cleaners, it performs in a manner that leaves cheaper units far behind ('in the dust,' so to speak)."

Selling it door-to-door, however, has generated some complaints about high-pressure sales pitches.

As far as I can tell, the sale has not been publicly announced. All we know is that the Kirby name is listed as a "current investment" on Right Lane's web site and it's not included in Scott Fetzer's "brand portfolio." 

George Washington University professor Lawrence Cunningham, who has written several books about Buffett and Berkshire, speculates to Business Insider that "it's possible the Kirby vacuum ain't what it used to be, or perhaps that the door-to-door business model controversies aren't worth it."

Emails to Scott Fetzer and Right Lane asking for more information have not yet been answered.

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BERKSHIRE STOCK WATCH

BERKSHIRE'S TOP U.S. STOCK HOLDINGS - July 23, 2021

Berkshire's top holdings of disclosed publicly-traded U.S. stocks by market value, based on today's closing prices.

Holdings are as of March 31, 2021 as reported in Berkshire Hathaway’s 13F filing on May 17, 2021, except for Apple, Bank of America, and U.S. Bancorp, which also include shares held as of March 31, 2021 as disclosed in New England Asset Management’s 13F filing on May 17, 2021.

In addition to U.S. stocks, shares held as of December 31, 2020 of China's BYD, as listed in Buffett's 2020 letter to shareholders, are included. The price of those shares in U.S. trading is used to approximate the current market value of the position. The value of the stake as a percentage of the company's market value is fixed at what was listed as of December 31, 2020 in the letter.

The full list of holdings and current market values is available from CNBC.com's Berkshire Hathaway Portfolio Tracker.

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-- Alex Crippen, Editor, Warren Buffett Watch