Berkshire reports higher Sanofi, Tesco stakes

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Berkshire Hathaway Inc, Warren Buffett's insurance and investment company, on Saturday said it has increased its stakes in French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis SA and British retailer Tesco Plc.

In his annual letter to Berkshire shareholders, Buffett said his company owned 25.1 million shares, or 1.9 percent, of Sanofi as of December 31, up from 22.1 million, or 1.7 percent, a year earlier.

He also said Berkshire's stake in Tesco rose to 234.2 million shares, or 3 percent, from 227.3 million, or 2.9 percent, over the same period.

Buffett's letter also reflected Berkshire's 9.9 percent stake in BYD Co, a Chinese car and battery maker. It said that stake was worth $1.99 billion as of December 31, more than eight times the $232 million that Berkshire paid.

Berkshire reveals its U.S.-listed equity investments in quarterly filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

These filings do not include investments on non-U.S. exchanges, and Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire typically discloses these in Buffett's shareholder letters.

Some of the Sanofi investment is in the form of American depositary receipts, and Berkshire discloses these quarterly.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel, editing by Vicki Allen)