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Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway to pay $896,000 penalty

Berkshire Hathaway owns more than 80 subsidiaries in a variety of industries, including insurance, utilities, railroads, retail and manufacturing.

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Nati Harnik/AP/File
Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett gestures during an interview in May. The stock price of Berkshire Hathaway topped $200,000 for the first time, Aug. 14.
  • By Associated Press

| OMAHA, Neb.

Warren Buffett's company has agreed to an $896,000 penalty for failing to tell regulators about a December 2013 investment in wallboard maker USG Corp.

The Federal Trade Commission said Wednesday that Berkshire Hathaway Inc. should have notified the Justice Department before it converted $325 million of senior USG notes it held into 21.4 million shares of the company.

Because Berkshire was already a significant USG shareholder, antitrust laws required it to notify regulators because of the size of the deal.

Regulators say Berkshire made a similar mistake six months earlier when it acquired securities in Symetra Financial Corp.

Berkshire officials did not immediately respond to questions about the settlement Wednesday.

Besides investments, Berkshire owns more than 80 subsidiaries in a variety of industries, including insurance, utilities, railroads, retail and manufacturing.

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