Warren Buffett may have a giant cash pile to burn but that doesn't necessarily mean he will compromise his long-standing value investing principles.

Over the past few months, the Oracle of Omaha has passed on different opportunities to acquire companies, big or small, as Berkshire Hathaway's cash grew to a record of $128 billion. In November, Buffett backed out of a bidding war after a slightly higher offer to buy hot technology distributor Tech Data.

On Thursday we learned he also declined to purchase luxury jeweler Tiffany when it was looking for a buyer last year.

Lofty market valuations could be holding back Buffett and his partner Charlie Munger, Berkshire's vice chairman, who have long been drawn to cheap companies with long-term prospects. Buffett has repeatedly said the premium for buying companies outright has gotten too rich for his liking partly due to competition from private equity companies and other players.