“Impressed by Duracell”
“I have always been impressed by Duracell, as a consumer and as a long-term investor in P&G”, Warren Buffett said in a press release. “Duracell is a leading global brand with top quality products, and it will fit well within Berkshire Hathaway.”
Duracell’s yearly company profit is estimated to be some 400 million euro. Buffett will pay 1.7 billion dollar in cash and another 4.7 billion dollar in P&G shares. Berkshire Hathaway used to own 1.9 % of P&G’s shares, but will now no longer be one of its shareholders.
P&G slims down
The world’s largest battery brand was put on sale in August by Procter & Gamble, alongside some 100 other brands as it wanted to slim down its brand portfolio.
Duracell has a factory in Aarschot (Belgium) with 450 employees. When P&G announced it wanted to get rid of Duracell, labour unions feared its announced “self-reliance” was just a sign it would be sold, but they were happy when the news mentioned that “no jobs would be cut”.
