Burlington Northern CEO: Deal Allows Railroad To Focus Long-Term

The head of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. (BNI) heralded his shareholders' approval Thursday of a deal to sell the company to Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRKA, BRKB), saying it will enable the railroad to focus on long-term growth.

"We won't be necessarily worried about an individual quarter [because] we will be looking at the longer term horizon" as part of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, Burlington Northern Chief Executive Matthew K. Rose said.

He made the comments during a brief press conference following a special meeting of Burlington Northern shareholders at the company's Fort Worth, Texas, headquarters.

According to preliminary voting results, about 70% of Burlington Northern shares that Berkshire Hathaway didn't already own were cast in favor of the acquisition. The deal is expected to close Friday.

During the five-minute press conference, Rose said he's been distressed by investors' short-term focus, calling it "one of the things I won't miss about my job" as head of a publicly traded company.

He blamed "the speed of the news today," among others things, for the trend.

"What our team is doing today, really won't be felt in terms of capital spending for really five to 10 years" or longer, Rose said, adding that Buffett understands the notion of investing for the long term.

-By Bob Sechler, Dow Jones Newswires; 512-394-0285; [e-mail]