M&A Deal Summary

Berkshire Hathaway Acquires BNSF

On November 3, 2009, Berkshire Hathaway acquired transportation company BNSF for 44.0B USD

Acquisition Highlights
  • This is Berkshire Hathaway’s 3rd transaction in the Transportation sector.
  • This is Berkshire Hathaway’s largest (disclosed) transaction.
  • This is Berkshire Hathaway’s 50th transaction in the United States.
  • This is Berkshire Hathaway’s 5th transaction in Texas.

M&A Deal Summary
Date 2009-11-03
Target BNSF
Sector Transportation
Buyer(s) Berkshire Hathaway
Deal Type Add-on Acquisition
Deal Value 44.0B USD
Advisor(s) Goldman Sachs
Evercore Group (Financial)
Cravath, Swaine & Moore (Legal)

Target

BNSF

Fort Worth, Texas, United States
BNSF's corporate headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas.
BNSF's corporate headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas.
BNSF is engaged primarily in the freight rail transportation business. The rail operations of BNSF Railway, BNSF’s principal operating subsidiary, comprise one of the largest railroad systems in North America.

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Buyer(S) 1

Buyer

Berkshire Hathaway

Omaha, Nebraska, United States
Category Company
Founded 1998
Sector Diversified
Employees396,500
Revenue 439.3B USD (2023)
DESCRIPTION
Berkshire Hathaway's corporate headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska.
Berkshire Hathaway's corporate headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska.

Berkshire Hathaway and its subsidiaries engage in diverse business activities including property and casualty insurance and reinsurance, utilities and energy, freight rail transportation, finance, manufacturing, retailing and services. Berkshire Hathaway was founded in 1998 and is based in Omaha, Nebraska.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 51 of 69
Sector (Transportation) 3 of 4
Type (Add-on Acquisition) 38 of 47
State (Texas) 5 of 6
Country (United States) 50 of 64
Year (2009) 2 of 2
Size (of disclosed) 1 of 37
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2009-01-01 Berkadia

New York, New York, United States

Berkadia, a joint venture of Berkshire Hathaway and Jefferies Financial Group, offers a suite of services to multifamily and commercial property clients. Powered by deep relationships and industry-changing technology, Berkadia's people sell, finance, and service commercial real estate, providing support for the entire life cycle of clients’ assets.

Buy -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2011-02-07 Wesco Financial

Pasadena, California, United States

Wesco engages in three principal businesses through its own direct or indirect subsidiaries, including the insurance business, the furniture rental business and the steel service center business. Wesco’s operations also include the management of commercial and residential real estate.

Buy $548M
Mergr

Product

Company

Legal