(Bloomberg) -- Warren Buffett’s role in the saga of Home Capital Group Inc., the embattled Canadian alternative lender, is coming to a close, with Berkshire Hathaway Inc. saying it will “substantially exit” its investment in the company.

• More than a year after taking a stake in Home Capital to shore up confidence after a near collapse, Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway will hold less than 10 percent of the company when the lender completes a repurchase of shares on Friday, according to a statement Wednesday.

Key Insights

• Buffett swooped in last year to take a stake in the company and provide it with a C$2 billion ($1.5 billion) credit line, which replaced an existing emergency credit facility. The bet paid off: The original purchase of the shares was at C$9.55 each in June of 2017, and Friday’s repurchases will be at a price of at least C$16.50, according to a separate statement.
• Still, the billionaire investor didn’t get all he had hoped for in the deal. He had agreed to buy shares in two transactions, one of which required shareholder approval. That bid, which would have doubled his stake, was rejected in September 2017.
• That failed effort and the repayment of the credit line mean the investment is “now not of a size to justify our ongoing involvement,” Buffett said in the statement. He isn’t leaving on sour terms. The billionaire praised Home Capital’s leadership and said Berkshire will continue to “cheer from the sidelines.”

Get More

• Read the statement here.

--With assistance from David Scanlan.

To contact the reporters on this story: Katherine Chiglinsky in New York at kchiglinsky@bloomberg.net;Natalie Wong in Toronto at nwong133@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Michael J. Moore at mmoore55@bloomberg.net, Steve Dickson, Daniel Taub

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