Dec 20, 2018   SOURCE: BusinessWire

Early Warning Reporting for Home Capital Group Inc.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK.A; BRK.B) (“Berkshire”) announced today that, as a result of the substantial issuer bid (the “Issuer Bid”) by Home Capital Group Inc. (the “Issuer”), it understands that approximately 83% of the common shares of the Issuer (“Common Shares”) held by Berkshire (the “Repurchased Shares”) will be repurchased by the Issuer at a price of C$16.50 per Repurchased Share, for aggregate gross proceeds of approximately C$220 million. Berkshire (through its wholly-owned subsidiary Columbia Insurance Company) tendered all of its Common Shares to the Issuer Bid and, following the announcement by the Issuer on December 19, 2018 of the preliminary results of the Issuer Bid, understands that the Repurchased Shares will be repurchased by the Issuer in accordance with the terms of the Issuer Bid with the result that, immediately following take-up of the Repurchased Shares, Berkshire is expected to hold less than 10% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares.

Prior to the completion of the Issuer Bid, Berkshire beneficially owned and exercised control over 16,044,580 Common Shares, representing approximately 19.99% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares. As a result of the Issuer Bid, Berkshire will beneficially own and exercise control over the balance of its Common Shares that are not Repurchased Shares, which is expected to represent less than 10% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares.

Berkshire tendered its Common Shares to the Issuer Bid in the normal course of its investment activity. Berkshire holds the Common Shares for investment purposes. Berkshire will evaluate its investment in the Issuer from time to time and may, based on such evaluation, market conditions and other circumstances, increase or decrease its shareholdings as circumstances require pursuant to market transactions, private agreements, or otherwise, in each case in accordance with applicable securities laws.

This press release is issued pursuant to National Instrument 62-103 – The Early Warning System and Related Take-Over Bid and Insider Reporting Issues, which requires a report to be filed under the Issuer’s profile on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) containing additional information with respect to the foregoing matters. A copy of such report may be obtained by contacting Marc D. Hamburg, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at (402) 346-1400. Columbia has an office c/o Berkshire Hathaway Inc., 3555 Farnam Street, Suite 1440, Omaha, NE 68131.

About Berkshire Hathaway (www.berkshirehathaway.com):

Berkshire Hathaway and its subsidiaries engage in diverse business activities including insurance and reinsurance, utilities and energy, freight rail transportation, finance, manufacturing, retailing and services. Common stock of Berkshire is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, trading symbols BRK.A and BRK.B.

Cautionary Statement

Certain statements contained in this press release are “forward looking” statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and Canadian securities legislation. These statements are not guaranties of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those forecasted.