P&G finds high-profile buyer for Duracell brand

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Bloomberg | David Paul Morris

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. will acquire the Duracell brand from Procter & Gamble.

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Erin Caproni

Digital Producer- Cincinnati Business Courier

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Procter & Gamble Co. has found a high-profile buyer for its Duracell brand just weeks after it announced plans to separate it from the company.

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is trading its shares of P&G common stock, which has a current value of about $4.7 billion, for the Duracell business. Also as part of the deal, Cincinnati-based P&G (NYSE:PG) will commit $1.7 billion in cash to recapitalize the battery company. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2015, following regulatory approval.

"I have always been impressed by Duracell, as a consumer and as a long-term investor in P&G and Gillette," Berkshire Hathaway CEO Buffett said in a statement. "Duracell is a leading global brand with top quality products, and it will fit well within Berkshire Hathaway."

P&G CEO A.G. Lafley thanked Duracell employees for their service and said he is "confident this new ownership structure will provide strong support for Duracell's future growth plans."

P&G's separation from Duracell is part of the company's plan to exit about half of its brands to become more profitable. P&G announced its planned split from Duracell during its annual earnings report in October.

The split includes Duracell's AA battery plant in Lancaster County. The 300,000-square-foot production facility has been a mainstay of Lancaster's economy for the past 35 years. The plant, which has more than 400 employees, is undergoing a $69 million addition and equipment upgrade.

Berkshire Hathaway and its subsidiaries engage in diverse business activities, including property and casualty insurance and reinsurance, utilities and energy, freight rail transportation, finance, manufacturing, retailing and services.

Caproni heads up web operations for the Business Courier.