Berkshire Hathaway Inc. to Acquire Applied Underwriters Inc.
OMAHA, Neb. & SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 8, 2006--Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) (NYSE:BRK.B) today announced it has agreed to acquire Applied Underwriters and all of its subsidiaries, including its North American Casualty insurance companies.


Applied Underwriters is a privately held company that is the industry leader in integrated workers' compensation solutions (www.applieduw.com). Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The transaction remains subject to customary closing conditions.

Applied Underwriters will continue to be managed by its founders, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Sidney R. Ferenc, and President and Chief Operating Officer Steven Menzies, as well as the rest of its current management team. The Company maintains its national operations center in Omaha, Nebraska. It will remain headquartered in San Francisco, and all of its business operations will continue as usual.

"We are delighted to become partners with Sid and Steve," said Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "We invest in proven companies that are industry leaders, and that offer significant growth potential. Applied's management team has the disciplined mindset necessary to lead a profitable underwriting operation."

"Becoming part of Berkshire Hathaway's family of companies is a terrific opportunity for our management, staff and employees," said Mr. Ferenc. "This acquisition will provide tremendous value to our agents, brokers, and their customers. We look forward to a long and mutually rewarding relationship."

"We're pleased to join one of America's best managed and most successful businesses," added Mr. Menzies. "Following more than 10 years of effort to position Applied Underwriters and our subsidiaries as the leader in integrated workers' compensation solutions, we are confident that this exciting development will take our businesses to an even stronger national leadership position within the industry."

Applied Underwriters provides business insurance solutions for a wide range of companies, with specific expertise in crafting workers' compensation and business services solutions for small and medium-sized enterprises. Applied's products include SolutionOne(R) and EquityComp(TM).

Berkshire Hathaway and its subsidiaries engage in diverse business activities, among which the most important is the property and casualty insurance business conducted on both a direct and reinsurance basis. Common stock of the company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, trading symbols BRK.A and BRK.B.
Contacts
Berkshire Hathaway, Omaha
Marc Hamburg, 402-346-1400
or
Applied Underwriters, San Francisco
William Strawn, 415-403-0800 x17