Warren Buffett's company Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is buying the Duracell battery brand in what is speculated to be the most lucrative sale ever for Procter & Gamble Co.
The announcement was made Thursday morning by Berkshire Hathaway officials, indicating the deal would be worth approximately $3 billion.
Procter & Gamble announced it was exiting the battery business on Oct. 24, putting Duracell up for sale. The brand generated $2 billion in annual sales for Cincinnati-based P&G, according to WCPO. The company absorbed Duracell in 2005 as part of the Gillette family of brands.
The Associated Press reported that the new purchase will include P&G receiving shares of its own stock currently held by Berkshire Hathaway. Those shares are currently worth about $4.7 billion. The deal won't close until the second half of 2015, according to the AP.
The Duracell deal may be P&G's biggest sale ever, according to financial data firm S&P Capital IQ.
Duracell deal by $PG may be its biggest ever sale; current largest was its June '08 sale of Folger Coffee to $SJM for $3.74B #SPCapIQ#spgmi
— S&P Capital IQ (@SPCapitalIQ) November 13, 2014
S&P Capital IQ also reported this was the biggest acquisition made by Berkshire Hathaway since February 2013 when it bought Heinz for $28.6 billion.
