The trading of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Class B stocks reached record highs in the NYSE’s closing auction and ended the day mildly in positive terrain at $76.90 on the back of 316 million shares traded. The average daily volume in the class B stock after a split 50-to-1 intended to help carry out the acquisition of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp (BNSF) and meet the liquidity criteria set forth by S&P, was 28.6 million shares.
The Nebraska-based company run by billionaire Warren Buffett will now replace BNSF in the S&P 500 and S&P 100 indices. Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway completed the formality by wining shareholder approval of BNSF, yesterday.
Buffet agreed to pay $100 per share to BNSF shareholders for a total consideration of $26.3 billion aggregating 77.4 percent of BNSF. Berkshire values Burlington Northern at $34.5 billion and will also assume about $10 billion of the railroad’s debt. The purchase is the largest ever for Buffett’s company.
Buffett’s company will pay Burlington Northern shareholders about $15.9 billion in cash and rest in Class A and Class B shares.