Cleary Gottlieb represented Goldman Sachs as the initial purchaser in a Rule 144A/Reg. S offering by Berkshire Hathaway Finance Corporation, a wholly-owned finance subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., of $1.5 billion of 4.125% senior notes due 2010, $1 billion of 4.85% senior notes due 2015 and $1.25 billion of floating rate senior notes due 2008. Berkshire Hathaway guaranteed the notes, which Standard & Poor’s Rating Services rated AAA and Moody’s Investors Service rated Aaa. This was Berkshire Hathaway’s fourth unsecured debt offering in the past year, with Cleary Gottlieb representing Goldman Sachs as initial purchaser for each.
Berkshire Hathaway is an investment company headed by investment guru Warren E. Buffett. Its subsidiaries engage in diverse businesses, including property and casualty insurance (GEICO, General Re), apparel manufacturing (Fruit of the Loom, H.H. Brown Shoe Group), building-materials manufacturing (Acme Brick, Benjamin Moore and Johns Manville) and other businesses (Buffalo News, Clayton Homes, See’s Candies, International Dairy Queen and The Pampered Chef).