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Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. added an investment in Kinder Morgan Inc. during the fourth quarter, snapping up shares of the pipeline operator as its market value plunged.

Shares in Kinder Morgan were up almost 10 per cent at US$17.16 in trading Wednesday.

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Berkshire held 26.5 million shares of the company as of Dec. 31, according to a regulatory filing Tuesday disclosing U.S. stock holdings. The stake was valued at $395.9 million at the end of 2015.

Kinder Morgan’s shares fell 65 per cent last year amid a slump in energy prices. The company, which hauls oil and gas through a pipeline network long enough to circle the globe three times, slashed its dividend in December for the first time to avoid a credit downgrade to junk status. The Houston-based company also said last month that it may sell assets to raise cash.

“It strikes me as a business that’s right up his alley,” said Jeff Matthews, an investor and author of Buffett-related books. “It’s a business that’s going to last for a long time,” he said. And the stock has “gotten crushed,” creating an opportunity to buy at an attractive price.