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December 2, 2008 12:08:21 PM CST

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Buffett to Buy Huge Industrial Firm Marmon

Posted Dec 25, 07 5:47 PM CST in Business 

(Newser) – Warren Buffett will pay $4.5 billion to acquire a majority stake in Marmon Holdings, an industrial conglomerate owned by one of America's richest familes, the Wall Street Journal reports. Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway will buy 60% of the company now from the Pritzker family of Chicago, with plans to acquire the rest in stages by 2014.

"I liked them," said Buffett, who put together the deal in two weeks. "They were my kind of guys." Marmon has a variety of industrial businesses, including makers of plumbing and electrical products. Its biggest is Union Tank Car, which makes railroad cars. The deal is Berkshire's biggest acquisition outside the insurance industry.

Source Wall Street Journal

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Berkshire Hathaway Chief Executive Officer Warren Buffett testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2007, before the Senate Finance Committee hearing on the federal estate tax. (AP...   (Associated Press)
Warren Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, is seen following a news conference in Omaha, Neb., in this May 6, 2007 file photo. Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is expected to release quarterly earnings on...   (Associated Press)
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