Acquisition closed
Berkshire Hathaway acquires Dairy Queen (1998)
Berkshire Hathaway completed the acquisition of Dairy Queen on 7 January 1998 for $585 million.[1]
Berkshire Hathaway acquired International Dairy Queen for about $585 million. Almost every Dairy Queen is franchised, so Berkshire owns the brand and the system rather than the restaurants.
Deal facts
- Announced
- Closed
- Value
- $585 million (enterprise value)
- Buyer
- Berkshire Hathaway
- Seller
- —
- Assets
- Dairy Queen
- Regulatory review
- None recorded
Ownership changes recorded from this deal
| Owner | Owned | Relationship | Stake | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berkshire Hathaway | Dairy Queen | owns | 100% | 1998-01-07 | present |
Who owns Dairy Queen today?
- Dairy Queen — owned by Berkshire Hathaway since 1998
Sources (1) & corrections
Last verified . Every ownership fact above is backed by one of these primary documents. Numbers in brackets in the text refer to this list.
- [1] Berkshire Hathaway Inc. - shareholder letters — Berkshire Hathaway Inc., Annual report; retrieved 8 September 2026.
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