New Money

Buffett Swoops In, Nabs Constellation at a Discount

By Katy Marquardt

Posted: September 18, 2008

You just knew Warren Buffett was going to roll in and make a discount buy amid the market upheaval this week. Sure enough, the mega-billionaire, who just lost the title of wealthiest person in the U.S. to Bill Gates, said Thursday that a company owned by Berkshire Hathaway would buy the flagging Constellation Energy Group for $4.7 billion in cash.

The price Buffett (or rather Berkshire-owned MidAmerican) is paying—$26.50 a share—is 60 percent below where Constellation was trading at the end of August. At 1:30 p.m., shares of the company (symbol CEG) were trading at $24.90.

In a statement, Buffett said of Constellation, a supplier of energy products and services to wholesale customers:

MidAmerican has been a wonderful steward of its energy assets and the acquisition of Constellation Energy, when completed, will prove beneficial to all constituents.

The acquisition is expected to be a done deal by close of business Sept. 19.

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New Money

Katy Marquardt, a senior editor at U.S.News & World Report, takes a contemporary look at happenings in the financial world and aims to help young investors get going with their portfolios--or just sound cool at cocktail parties. Have a question? E-mail Katy at newmoney@usnews.com

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