An Inside Look at Buffett's 20 Largest Deals

Stephen Grocer Deal Journal November 4, 2009

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About a year ago, Warren Buffett said he was buying American, and he urged investors to do the same.

Today he is once again wagering on America–and in a big way.

Berkshire Hathaway agreed to buy Burlington Northern for $26 billion of cash and stock, a deal that values the entire company at $36 billion. When it closes the deal will be by far the biggest of Buffett’s career. In fact, the only other Berkshire deal to top $10 billion was the $16 billion purchase of General Re in 1998.

Yet as our colleagues over at Barron’s point out: “Buffett has talked about doing an “elephant” transaction that would move the needle at Berkshire, which has a market value of nearly $160 billion. In that regard, the Burlington deal fits the bill.”

Here’s a list of Berkshire’s 20 largest deals from Dealogic.

Announced Target Acquirer Value (Ex Debt) $m Value $m

< 11/3/2009 Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp (77.4%) Berkshire Hathaway 26,782.44 36,006.44 06/19/1998 General Re Corp. Berkshire Hathaway 16,154.32 16,154.32 05/24/2005 PacifiCorp Berkshire Hathaway 5,100.00 9,400.00 12/26/2007 Marmon Holdings Inc (60%) Berkshire Hathaway 4,500.00 4,500.00 05/05/2006 Iscar Metalworking Cos (80%) Berkshire Hathaway 4,000.00 4,000.00 07/07/2008 Dow Chemical Co (9.365%) Berkshire Hathaway 3,000.00 3,000.00 08/25/1995 Geico Corporation (80%) Berkshire Hathaway 2,300.00 2,509.78 10/25/1999 MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co “Management Group; Berkshire Hathaway 2,143.73 8,386.03 04/28/2008 Mars Inc (Mars and William Wrigley Jr new company after the merger completes) Berkshire Hathaway Inc 2,100.00 2,100.00 09/06/2000 Shaw Industries, Inc. (83.1% stake.) Berkshire Hathaway 1,999.35 1,999.35 12/20/2000 Johns Manville Corp. Berkshire Hathaway 1,939.41 2,387.88 04/01/2003 Clayton Homes Inc Berkshire Hathaway 1,710.20 1,710.85 10/15/1996 FlightSafety International Inc (Yeast Business) Berkshire Hathaway 1,509.20 1,509.20 05/02/2003 McLane Co Inc Berkshire Hathaway 1,500.00 1,500.00 11/08/2000 Benjamin Moore & Co. Berkshire Hathaway 1,007.34 1,007.34 07/29/2002 Northern Natural Gas Co Berkshire Hathaway 928.00 1,878.00 10/15/2001 Fruit of the Loom Ltd Berkshire Hathaway 835.00 1,766.60 05/06/2005 Medical Protective Corp Berkshire Hathaway 825.00 825.00 03/10/2008 Railsplitter Holdings Corp Berkshire Hathaway 821.99 821.99 01/23/2008 Swiss Re (3.02%) Berkshire Hathaway 748.81 748.81 « Previous Deal Profile: Berkshire to Buy Burlington Northern Next » John Mack for BofA CEO? Deal Journal HOME PAGE Email Printer Friendly Comments (1) Permalink Share:

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Name We welcome thoughtful comments from readers. Please comply with our guidelines. Our blogs do not require the use of your real name. Comment Comments (1 of 1) View all Comments » 8:14 pm November 3, 2009 "Confusion". Hum, what is there to be confused about? The OZ... wrote:

These may be the “bigest”… but by far not the most important to the bottom line of “Trot Line Fishing”… for the Us US Tax Payers! SG… good “START”… if you catch my drifting on he current of indulgencies by big brother!

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Deal Journal is an up-to-the-minute take on the deals and deal makers that shape the landscape of Wall Street, including mergers and acquisitions, capital-raising, private equity and bankruptcy. In short, wherever money changes hands. Deal Journal is updated throughout each trading day with exclusive commentary, analysis, data, news flashes and profiles. The Wall Street Journal's Michael Corkery is the lead writer, with contributions from other Journal reporters and editors. Send news items, comments and questions to deals@wsj.com.

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