Standard & Poor's, a subsidiary of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (MHP), said Tuesday that Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRKA, BRKB) will replace Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. (BNI) in the S&P 100 and S&P 500 indices on a date to be announced.
Burlington Northern Santa Fe, the second largest U.S. railroad, is being acquired by Berkshire Hathaway in a deal expected to close next month, pending final approvals.
In early November, Berkshire Hathaway agreed to buy the remaining 77.4% of Burlington Northern Santa Fe that it does not already own for $100 per share in cash and stock. Based on the number of outstanding Burlington shares, including shares currently owned by Berkshire, on Nov. 2, the deal is valued at about $44 billion, including $10 billion of outstanding Burlington debt. The deal has since received U.S. antitrust clearance and is awaiting shareholder approval next month. Buffett has termed the deal as "an all-in wager on the economic future of the United States."
Berkshire Hathaway shareholders also last week approved a 50-for-1 split of the company's class B common stock.
Berkshire Hathaway is a holding company owning subsidiaries that engage in a number of diverse business activities including property and casualty insurance and reinsurance, utilities and energy, finance, manufacturing, services and retailing.
The company has over 70 units with businesses as varied as insurance, restaurants, furniture, clothing, candy companies, natural gas and corporate jet leasing.
Berkshire also holds significant stakes in many top-notch companies such as Coca-Cola Co. (KO), Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC), Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT), Washington Post Co. (WPO), American Express Co. (AEP) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) among others. Berkshire is the largest shareholder of Wells Fargo, American Express and Coca-Cola.
Burlington Northern Santa Fe will be Berkshire's largest ever acquisition.
Berkshire's Class A shares, which were not split, closed Tuesday's regular trading session at $101,751, down 1,449 or 1.40% but gained 8,949 or 8.79% in after hours trading. The company's Class B shares closed the day's session at $68.00, down 84 cents or 1.22% but gained $6.00 or 8.82% in after hours trading.
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.