Berkshire Hathaway to borrow $8 billion to finance Burlington Northern deal

Berkshire to issue $8B of debt for BNSF purchase

OMAHA, Neb. — Berkshire Hathaway Inc. filed documents Thursday indicating plans to sell $8 billion of debt to finance the acquisition of railroad Burlington Northern Sante Fe Corp.

Documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission indicated plans to sell a combination of fixed-rate and floating-rate notes with maturities ranging from 2011 to 2015. Pricing was not immediately disclosed.

“We expect to use the net proceeds of this offering in connection with our acquisition, through merger, of BNSF,” the filing said. “If the conditions to such acquisition are not met, we expect to use the net proceeds for general corporate purposes.”

Shareholders of BNSF are scheduled to vote on the proposed acquisition Feb. 11. It is subject to approval by holders of two-thirds of BNSF common shares not held by Berkshire.

The deal is expected to close by Feb. 15.

Moody’s Investors Service assigned a rating of “Aa2″ to the notes. The rating outlook for Berkshire and BHFC is stable.

“BNSF will strengthen Berkshire’s profits and cash flows while further diversifying its portfolio of owned businesses,” analyst Bruce Ballentine said in a statement.

The transaction reduces Berkshire’s financial flexibility in the near term, given that a majority of the consideration is in cash, he said.

The stable rating outlook incorporates our view that Berkshire will repay the debt over the next few years and will maintain its historically conservative funding practices, Ballentine said.

Berkshire’s Class B shares fell $2.11, or 2.8 percent, to $72.25 in afternoon trading.