Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett on July 22 denied reports that BNSF is working with Goldman Sachs on a possible merger with an eastern Class I, CNBC has reported. Buffett’s brush-aside came in the wake of reports that Union Pacific has been engaged in merger talks with Norfolk Southern, and one day after Semafor and Reuters, citing anonymous sources, reported, that Berkshire tapped Goldman to work on a potential deal.
Buffett, 94 told CNBC’s Becky Quick that “no one from Goldman had talked to him or Greg Abel, who is set to succeed Buffett as Berkshire CEO at the end of the year. Buffett added that he would not seek advice from external bankers on deals. The ‘Oracle of Omaha’ has long voiced disdain for expensive intermediaries as banks usually have a big incentive to make deals.” If UP announces a deal with NS, analysts and industry observers say BNSF will seek to strike a similar agreement with CSX.
In 2011, Berkshire bought BNSF, paying $26.5 billion for the 77% of the company it didn’t previously own.
