Billionaire Warren Buffett's company now owns about 3.2 percent of Lee Enterprises' stock as Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s newspaper holdings continue to grow.

Buffett's Omaha-based company disclosed owning 1.66 million shares of Lee's stock on Tuesday after the Securities and Exchange Commission refused to let him keep the investment confidential.

The SEC often lets Buffett conceal investment moves while he's making them because so many investors try to copy him.

Last month Berkshire announced a deal to buy 63 newspapers from Media General Inc. for $142 million. And Buffett has said Berkshire may buy more newspapers in the future despite the challenges the industry faces.

Lee is a Davenport, Iowa, based publisher of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Lincoln Journal Star and other newspapers.