Berkshire Hathaway To Replace Burlington Northern In S&P 500

   DOW JONES NEWSWIRES 
 

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRKA, BRKB) will replace Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. (BNI) in the S&P 100 and S&P 500 indexes when Warren Buffett's conglomerate's deal to buy the railroad goes through.

Class B shares of Berkshire were up 7.4% to $73.01 in after-hours trading.

Many had speculated the move by Standard & Poor's was coming after Berkshire split its class B shares 50-to-1 to make it easier to issue stock to Burlington Northern shareholders. That move brought the price of the shares down, making them eligible for inclusion.

Berkshire agreed in November to purchase the 77% of Burlington it didn't already own for $100 a share in cash and stock, a purchase Buffett described at the time as an "all-in wager on the economic future of the United States."

Berkshire will be in the financials economic sector, as its main businesses are insurance and reinsurance.

-By Jay Miller, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2355; [e-mail]