Simpson Thacher represented BofA Merrill Lynch, Goldman, Sachs & Co., J.P. Morgan and Wells Fargo Securities in the registered public offerings of €1.1 billion aggregate principal amount of euro-denominated fixed-rate notes by Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (“Berkshire”) and $1.3 billion aggregate principal amount of U.S. dollar-denominated floating-rate notes by Berkshire Hathaway Finance Corporation (“BHFC”) guaranteed by Berkshire. The offerings by BHFC closed on January 12, 2017, and the offerings by Berkshire closed on January 17, 2017.
Berkshire used the net proceeds from its offerings to repay at maturity its existing 1.9% Senior Notes due 2017, and BHFC used the net proceeds from its offering to repay at maturity its existing Floating Rate Senior Notes due 2017. The remaining proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes.
Berkshire and its subsidiaries engage in diverse business activities including insurance and reinsurance, utilities and energy, freight rail transportation, finance, manufacturing, retailing and services. Berkshire’s common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, trading symbols BRK.A and BRK.B.
The Simpson Thacher team for the transaction included Andy Keller, Mark Brod, Tony Rim and Davis Mahon (Capital Markets); Steve DeLott (Insurance); Jonathan Cantor and Michelle Goldring (Tax); and Jennie Getsin (FINRA and Blue Sky).