Wednesday, December 30, 2009, 3:34AM ET - U.S. Markets open in 5 hours and 56 minutes.

Buffett Buys $3B of GE Preferred, Company Selling $12B of Common

Posted Oct 01, 2008 02:39pm EDT by John Carney in Investing, Newsmakers, Banking

From ClusterStock.com, Oct. 1, 2008:

General Electric Co (GE) just announced plans to raise $15 billion, with a little help from Warren Buffett. The company is selling $12 billion of common stock to the public and $3 billion of preferred to Berkshire Hathaway.

The old Oracle of Omaha has cut deal strikingly similar to the deal he cut with Goldman Sachs. Here he is getting perpetual preferred stock with a 10% dividend that is callable after three years at a 10% premium. He’s also snatching up warrants to purchase $3 billion of common stock at $22, which is a two dollar discount from where the stock is trading right now.

How closely is this investment in GE tied to Buffett’s faith in the bailout? GE is currently protected from short-selling under the SEC’s emergency ban, and GE may be eligible to sell assets to the Securitized Housing Investment Trust. He cited the bailout as a key to his investment in Goldman Sachs.

Fascinatingly, in an interview with Becky Quick on CNBC, Buffett said he was sold on this deal by investment bankers at Goldman Sachs. So those guys have talked Warren into parting with $8 billion of his cash in less than a week. Impressive.

CNBC describes Buffett’s investment in GE as “a very expensive advertising campaign.” To be sure, Buffett putting money into GE will make it attractive to many investors. But if you look at the great terms Buffett is demanding for his money, you have to wonder if other investors really should be buying into the common shares without the promised dividend and warrants.

 

46 Comments

Pat
Pat - Wednesday October 01, 2008 04:49PM EDT

The legislation says that the Treasury Secretary can authorize the purchase of mortgage-related assets AND "any other" financial instrument "necessary to promote financial market stability." In effect,that means they can buy whatever they want, including things like auto loans. Andrew Moylan Government Affairs Manager National Taxpayers Union 703-683-5700 phone 703-683-5722 fax amoylan@ntu.org mortgage related assets AND any other(DERIVATIVES) 37 TRILLION DOLLARS WORTH. iF THIS bailout passes OUR NEXT GOAL IS TO REMOVE FROM OFFICE THE POLIITICIANS WHO VOTED YES FOR THE BAILOUT!!!! NO BAILOUT, NO BAILOUT, VOTE THEM OUT, VOTE THEM OUT.

Yahoo! Finance User
Yahoo! Finance User - Wednesday October 01, 2008 04:53PM EDT

Let me get this right...me a middle class guy investing for my retirement buys GE and gets a 5.37 dividend but billionaire Buffet gets a 10% dividend on preffered stock and dibs on more stock at a discounte rate? The middle class is dead.

Yahoo! Finance User
Yahoo! Finance User - Wednesday October 01, 2008 05:12PM EDT

An honest man find a good deal like Mr Buffet,but a noisy man like a congressman can not find a friend in time of trouble but enemy because he is a noisy and empty.head.

Yahoo! Finance User
Yahoo! Finance User - Wednesday October 01, 2008 05:12PM EDT

An honest man find a good deal like Mr Buffet,but a noisy man like a congressman can not find a friend in time of trouble but enemy because he is a noisy and empty.head.

Yahoo! Finance User
Yahoo! Finance User - Wednesday October 01, 2008 05:13PM EDT

An honest man find a good deal like Mr Buffet,but a noisy man like a congressman can not find a friend in time of trouble but enemy because he is a noisy and empty.head.

Yahoo! Finance User
Yahoo! Finance User - Wednesday October 01, 2008 05:13PM EDT

An honest man find a good deal like Mr Buffet,but a noisy man like a congressman can not find a friend in time of trouble but enemy because he is a noisy and empty.head.

Yahoo! Finance User
Yahoo! Finance User - Wednesday October 01, 2008 05:18PM EDT

Can someone explain why these Buffet deals in GE and Goldman don't constitute "front running"?

Yahoo! Finance User
Yahoo! Finance User - Wednesday October 01, 2008 05:25PM EDT

Is there anymore patriotic American even in Conress is there Any or many of them like Judas.

Yahoo! Finance User
Yahoo! Finance User - Wednesday October 01, 2008 05:38PM EDT

Um...Buffet isn't stealing from GE shareholders. He couldn't buy the shares unless they were FOR SALE. And the stocks are a great deal! Hello...STOCKS AT ALL-TIME LOW=STOCKS ARE ON SALE. BUY LOW. SELL HIGH. Don't sell TOMORROW...sell NEXT year, year after that. Or don't, go back to reading celebrity gossip or watching reruns. Let smarter people buy the bargain of the century. But if you want to help, choose a favorite company who you think is going to be around (Campbells makes sense to me, too) and buy some of their stock. Shows some CONFIDENCE. Contributes to the RECOVERY.

jim
jim - Wednesday October 01, 2008 06:29PM EDT

Buffet bought $3.0 billion of GE preferred with 10% div. Does anyone know the symbol of this 10% preferred stock? Can not be GEJ that is paying 7+% div!

Hathras wallah
Hathras wallah - Wednesday October 01, 2008 08:02PM EDT

Why this deal is not available to us folks and only to Buffett, do we not pay taxes or our blood is not blue enough.

Mitchel
Mitchel - Wednesday October 01, 2008 08:50PM EDT

The snowball gets bigger

Theodore
Theodore - Thursday October 02, 2008 12:31AM EDT

the dingo ate your baby

jes
jes - Thursday October 02, 2008 04:59AM EDT

mr. buffett buying general electric under the preferential terms he is getting is great for him, but general electric for the average buying public may not be so great. think about it.

Doug C
Doug C - Thursday October 02, 2008 09:01AM EDT

“The leaders of both the Republican and Democratic Parties are rushing ahead with their $700 billion bill,” says Bob Barr, the Libertarian Party candidate for president. “Without a single hearing and without considering other solutions, Congress is preparing to put the typical American family on the hook for more than $8,000. Legislators in both parties need to stand up for the American people and say no,” says Barr. www.lp.org

André
André - Thursday October 02, 2008 09:19AM EDT

I bought GE last week at $24.70. This morning I realise that I overpaid $2.70 per share. I never thought things were so bad. I think GE needs a new CEO.

tom
tom - Thursday October 02, 2008 09:33AM EDT

There is a reason why Warren Buffett has so much money- he knows a bargain when he sees it. These stocks are on sale!! Do you think Warren is going to overpay for a stock?? Even though we cannot get his terms, GE at 22.50 pays out a 5.5% dividend....along with the potential growth when things settle down a bit. Wake up people! This is a buying opportunity that you will regret missing if you do not take advantage of it.

- Thursday October 02, 2008 09:56AM EDT

Yeah, what better way to raise some quick cash than diluting the company and pricing the new round of shares at the 52 week low? Of course we have to promise our big benefactor a fat 10% return while if you take what's left of the diluted dividend it won't cover the capital losses of the past week for another 5 years. Thank you very much common stock shareholders, we appreciate your gracious contribution to the wealthy. What you get in return is the sense of satisfaction you derive from giving away your hard earned investment dollars.

- Thursday October 02, 2008 09:56AM EDT

Yeah, what better way to raise some quick cash than diluting the company and pricing the new round of shares at the 52 week low? Of course we have to promise our big benefactor a fat 10% return while if you take what's left of the diluted dividend it won't cover the capital losses of the past week for another 5 years. Thank you very much common stock shareholders, we appreciate your gracious contribution to the wealthy. What you get in return is the sense of satisfaction you derive from giving away your hard earned investment dollars.

Beachbug
Beachbug - Thursday October 02, 2008 11:26AM EDT

"nuts" or 'naive". Warren Buffet isn't wearing his knight in shining armor outfit to rescue a floundering GE. He's really wearing his wolf costume. As usual he is bottom feeding. This is by far one of his riskier acquisitions, GE is not the same company it was three years ago. Today it's still the third largest company in the world. But won't be much longer as the upper level management continue to ride this one time great company into extinction. Jack Welch where are you when we need the hatchet man, house cleaner, and cost cutter the most.

Yahoo! reserves the right to refuse, or remove any comment that does not comply with the Yahoo! Terms of Service. The submission of spam, hateful, or obscene messages may result in the termination of your Yahoo! ID.
About Tech Ticker - Send FeedbackDisclaimer. Copyright © 2007 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright/IP Policy - Terms of Service - Privacy Policy - Help
Quotes delayed, except where indicated otherwise. Delay times are 15 mins for NASDAQ, NYSE and Amex. See also delay times for other exchanges.

Quotes and other information supplied by independent providers identified on the Yahoo! Finance partner page. Quotes are updated automatically, but will be turned off after 25 minutes of inactivity. Quotes are delayed at least 15 minutes for NASDAQ, NYSE and Amex. See also delay times for other exchanges. Real-Time continuous streaming quotes are available through our premium service. You may turn streaming quotes on or off. Fundamental company data provided by Capital IQ. Financials data provided by Edgar Online. Historical chart data and daily updates provided by Commodity Systems, Inc. (CSI). International historical chart data, daily updates, fund summary, fund performance, dividend data and Morningstar Index data provided by Morningstar, Inc. Analyst estimates data provided by Thomson Financial Network. All data provided by Thomson Financial Network is based solely upon research information provided by third party analysts. Yahoo! has not reviewed, and in no way endorses the validity of such data. Yahoo! and ThomsonFN shall not be liable for any actions taken in reliance thereon. All information provided "as is" for informational purposes only, not intended for trading purposes or advice. Neither Yahoo! nor any of independent providers is liable for any informational errors, incompleteness, or delays, or for any actions taken in reliance on information contained herein. By accessing the Yahoo! site, you agree not to redistribute the information found therein.