Berkshire Hathaway to Buy Lubrizol Corp. for $9.7B

Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett's conglomerate holding company, will purchase chemical company Lubrizol Corp. (Wickliffe, Ohio) for $9.7 billion in cash. The deal, which was unanimously approved by the board of directors of each company, should be completed in the third quarter of 2011. The buying price of $135 per share is 28 percent higher than the Lubrizol's closing price on March 11 and 18 percent higher than the stock's record high. Lubrizol Corp. is parent company of Lubrizol Advanced Materials Inc. (Cleveland), a coatings manufacturer.

"Lubrizol is exactly the sort of company with which we love to partner-the global leader in several market applications run by a talented CEO, James Hambrick," Buffett said in a release. "Our only instruction to James: just keep doing for us what you have done so successfully for your shareholders."

After the deal is completed, Lubrizol will operate as a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway; the company will remain at its Wickliffe headquarters and will continue to be led by its current management team.

Berkshire Hathaway also owns flooring company Shaw Industries Inc. (Dalton, Ga.).