Berkshire buying Duracell from P&G in $3B deal

OMAHA, Neb. - Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A) is buying the Duracell battery business from Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) in a deal valued at approximately $3 billion.

P&G, the world's biggest consumer products maker, had announced last month that it wanted to make Duracell a stand-alone company. P&G, which acquired Duracell in 2005, said at the time that it preferred a spinoff of Duracell, but that it was considering a sale or other options.

P&G, whose products include Tide detergent and Pampers diapers, has been trimming its product lineup to focus on its top performers. After it finishes jettisoning more than half its brands around the globe over the next year or two, P&G has said that it will be left with about 70 to 80 brands.

The sale of Duracell to Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire Hathaway turned out to be slightly different from P&G's initial plans.

P&G will receive shares of its own stock that are currently held by Berkshire Hathaway. Those shares are currently valued at about $4.7 billion. Offsetting some of those costs, P&G will contribute about $1.7 billion to Duracell before the deal closes.

"I have always been impressed by Duracell, as a consumer and as a long-term investor in P&G and Gillette," Buffett said in a statement on Thursday.

Cincinnati-based P&G said it will take a charge of about 28 cents per share in its current quarter related to the Duracell deal.

The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2015.

Shares of P&G shed 78 cents to $88.70 before the market open.