Warren Buffett's $26 billion "bet on America" is now official.
Berkshire Hathaway has just issued a news releaseannouncing the "closing of the merger of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation ('BNSF') with and into a subsidiary of Berkshire."
As a subsidiary, Burlington shares will no longer be publicly traded.
BNSF shareholders approved Berkshire's acquisition of the railroad at a special meeting held yesterday (Thursday.)
Burlington Northern shareholders were given the choice of being paid for their shares in cash, Berkshire stock, or a combination of the two.
Final results of those elections:
| Cash | 40.85% |
| Stock | 43.36% |
| No Election | 15.79% |
The release says BNSF shareholders choosing cash or failing to make an election will get $100/share cash. Those choosing stock will get 92.25% of their $100/share in Berkshire stock and the remainder in cash.
In total, Berkshire will pay about $15.87 billion in cash and issue approximately 80,932 shares of Class A stock, along with approximately 21 million shares of Class B.
Next stop for the Berkshire Bs will be their addition to the widely followed benchmark S&P 500 stock index, replacing Burlington Northern.
That happens after tonight's closing bell at 4p ET, giving the many investors in S&P index funds a piece of Warren Buffett and Berkshire.
Current Berkshire stock prices:
