Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett secured an $11.5 billion gain by exercising warrants to purchase 700 million shares of Bank of America Corp., according to an article in Bloomberg. The share purchase will result in a $16.5 billion stake in the Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank.
In 2011, Buffett invested $5 billion in BofA in exchange for the warrants and preferred stock, assuaging doubts that the bank had insufficient capital reserves. Since that time, the shares have more than tripled. In a June statement, Berkshire telegraphed that it would convert its preferred shares to common once the bank increased its dividend.
On August 29th, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan announced the completion of the transaction, stating, “In 2011, we welcomed Berkshire Hathaway as a shareholder, and we appreciate their continued support now as our largest common shareholder.”
