Significant business acquisitions

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Significant business acquisitions

(2) Significant business acquisitions

Our long-held acquisition strategy is to purchase businesses with consistent earning power, good returns on equity and able and honest management at sensible prices.

On March 13, 2011, Berkshire and The Lubrizol Corporation (“Lubrizol”) entered into a merger agreement, whereby Berkshire would acquire all of the outstanding shares of Lubrizol common stock for cash of $135 per share (approximately $8.7 billion in the aggregate). The merger was completed on September 16, 2011. Lubrizol, based in Cleveland, Ohio, is an innovative specialty chemical company that produces and supplies technologies to customers in the global transportation, industrial and consumer markets. These technologies include additives for engine oils, other transportation-related fluids and industrial lubricants, as well as additives for gasoline and diesel fuel. In addition, Lubrizol makes ingredients and additives for personal care products and pharmaceuticals; specialty materials, including plastics; and performance coatings. Lubrizol’s industry-leading technologies in additives, ingredients and compounds enhance the quality, performance and value of customers’ products, while reducing their environmental impact.

The allocation of the purchase price to Lubrizol’s assets and liabilities is summarized below (in millions):

Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$	893
Inventories		1,598
Property, plant and equipment		2,344
Intangible assets		3,897
Goodwill		3,877
Other		1,077
	$	13,686
Liabilities, noncontrolling interests and net assets acquired:
Accounts payable, accruals and other liabilities	$	1,684
Notes payable and other borrowings		1,607
Income taxes, principally deferred		1,563
Noncontrolling interests		128
		4,982
Net assets acquired		8,704
	$	13,686

Lubrizol’s financial results are included in our Consolidated Financial Statements beginning as of September 16, 2011. The following table sets forth certain unaudited pro forma consolidated earnings data for each of the two years ending December 31, 2011, as if the acquisition was consummated on the same terms at the beginning of 2010. Amounts are in millions, except earnings per share.

	2011		2010
Total revenues	$	148,160	$	141,595
Net earnings attributable to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders		10,710		13,156
Earnings per equivalent Class A common share attributable to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders		6,491		8,043

We have owned a controlling interest in Marmon since 2008. In the first quarter of 2011, we acquired 16.6% of the outstanding common stock of Marmon Holdings, Inc. (“Marmon”) for approximately $1.5 billion in cash, thus increasing our ownership to 80.2%. We increased our interests in the underlying assets and liabilities of Marmon; however, under current GAAP, the excess of the purchase price over the carrying value of the noncontrolling interests acquired is allocable to shareholders’ equity and not to assets or liabilities. We recorded a charge of $614 million to capital in excess of par value in our consolidated shareholders’ equity as of December 31, 2010 to reflect this difference as such amount was fixed and determinable at that date.

In June 2011, we acquired all of the then outstanding noncontrolling interests in Wesco Financial Corporation for aggregate consideration of $543 million consisting of cash of approximately $298 million and 3,253,472 shares of Berkshire Class B common stock.

On February 12, 2010, we acquired all of the outstanding common stock of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation (“BNSF”) that we did not already own (about 264.5 million shares or 77.5% of the outstanding shares) for aggregate consideration of $26.5 billion that consisted of cash of approximately $15.9 billion with the remainder in Berkshire common stock (80,931 Class A shares and 20,976,621 Class B shares). We accounted for the acquisition using the purchase method and our allocation of the purchase price to BNSF’s assets and liabilities was completed as of December 31, 2010. BNSF’s financial statements are included in our Consolidated Financial Statements beginning on February 12, 2010. BNSF is based in Fort Worth, Texas, and through its wholly owned subsidiary, BNSF Railway Company, operates one of the largest railroad systems in North America with approximately 32,000 route miles of track (including 23,000 route miles of track owned by BNSF) in 28 states and two Canadian provinces.

Prior to February 12, 2010, we owned 76.8 million shares of BNSF (22.5% of the outstanding shares), which were acquired between August 2006 and January 2009. We accounted for those shares pursuant to the equity method and as of February 12, 2010, our investment had a carrying value of approximately $6.6 billion. Upon completion of the acquisition of the remaining BNSF shares, we re-measured our previously owned investment in BNSF at fair value as of the acquisition date. Accordingly, in 2010, we recognized a one-time holding gain of $979 million representing the difference between the fair value of the BNSF shares that we acquired prior to February 12, 2010 and our carrying value under the equity method.