OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is buying the Duracell battery business from Procter & Gamble Co. in a deal valued at approximately $3 billion.
P&G, the world’s biggest consumer products maker, had announced last month that it wanted to make Duracell a stand-alone company. P&G, which acquired Duracell in 2005, said at the time that it preferred a spinoff of Duracell, but that it was considering a sale or other options.
The sale of Duracell to Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire Hathaway turned out to be slightly different from P&G’s initial plans.
P&G will receive shares of its own stock that are currently held by Berkshire Hathaway. Those shares are currently valued at about $4.7 billion. Offsetting part of that price, P&G will contribute about $1.7 billion to the Duracell business before the deal closes.
“I have always been impressed by Duracell, as a consumer and as a long-term investor in P&G and Gillette,” Buffett said in a statement on Thursday.