Goldman Sachs ( GS ) catches Buffett & Berkshire

You know, I was watching the stock market close today like I do every day, and I noticed two things. At about 3:53pmEST the market was tanking and Goldman Sachs ( GS ) was starting to take off. GS went from $119 to $125 on heavy volume but I could not find any news.

Well look what has the stock market futures taking off tonight!

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS) announced today that it has reached an agreement to sell $5 billion of perpetual preferred stock to Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. in a private offering. The preferred stock has a dividend of 10 percent and is callable at any time at a 10 percent premium. In conjunction with this offering, Berkshire Hathaway will also receive warrants to purchase $5 billion of common stock with a strike price of $115 per share, which are exercisable at any time for a five year term.

In addition, Goldman Sachs is raising at least $2.5 billion in common equity in a public offering.
“We are pleased that given our longstanding relationship, Warren Buffett, arguably the world’s most admired and successful investor, has decided to make such a significant investment in Goldman Sachs. We view it as a strong validation of our client franchise and future prospects,” said Lloyd C. Blankfein, Chairman and CEO of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. “This investment will further bolster our strong capitalization and liquidity position.”

“Goldman Sachs is an exceptional institution,” said Warren Buffett, Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. “It has an unrivaled global franchise, a proven and deep management team and the intellectual and financial capital to continue its track record of outperformance.”