DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRKA, BRKB) will replace Burlington
Northern Santa Fe Corp. (BNI) in the S&P 100 and S&P 500
indexes when Warren Buffett's conglomerate's deal to buy the
railroad goes through.
Class B shares of Berkshire were up 7.4% to $73.01 in
after-hours trading.
Many had speculated the move by Standard & Poor's was coming
after Berkshire split its class B shares 50-to-1 to make it easier
to issue stock to Burlington Northern shareholders. That move
brought the price of the shares down, making them eligible for
inclusion.
Berkshire agreed in November to purchase the 77% of Burlington
it didn't already own for $100 a share in cash and stock, a
purchase Buffett described at the time as an "all-in wager on the
economic future of the United States."
Berkshire will be in the financials economic sector, as its main
businesses are insurance and reinsurance.
-By Jay Miller, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2355;
jay.miller@dowjones.com