Warren Buffett Likes IBM’s Tune, Becomes Its Biggest Shareholder

Warren Buffett, the legendary investor and head of Berkshire Hathaway, just said on CNBC that he has spent $10.7 billion to buy about 64 million shares — about 5.5 percent — of equity in computing giant IBM.

Buffett made the disclosure in an interview, which at this moment is still underway, on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” Why IBM? “They treat their stock with reverence,” which he says is unusual.

The shares are also on a nice steady climb. IBM ended 2010 at $146.76 and closed Friday at $187.38, good enough for a rise of nearly 28 percent this year.

Berkshire Hathaway’s 13F disclosure statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is due later today. But from my glance at this Yahoo Finance list of IBM’s biggest shareholders, it looks like it will eclipse the investment firm State Street as Big Blue’s biggest institutional shareholder.

IBM shares are going up in premarket trading. As of about 8:40 am ET, the shares were heading up by more than $2, or about 1.1 percent, to $189.46.

Here’s the video: