On October 24, 1999, BHE executed an Agreement and
Plan of
Merger with an
investor consortium led by Berkshire Hathaway and comprising
Walter Scott, Jr.,
David L. Sokol, and
Gregory E. Abel. The agreement provided for the acquisition of all outstanding
common shares of
company at $35.05 per share, representing a 29% premium over the previous
closing price. The total
equity value of the transaction, inclusive of transaction costs, was approximately $2.2 billion. Berkshire Hathaway committed $1.24 billion to acquire common and
convertible preferred stock and $455 million to
purchase nontransferable trust preferred securities bearing an 11% coupon and maturing on March 14, 2010. Scott, Sokol, and Abel collectively contributed $310 million in
cash and
securities. The remaining
funding was sourced from company's existing
cash reserves. The transaction also included the assumption of $7 billion in outstanding
debt. Following completion,
voting ownership was allocated as follows: Berkshire Hathaway held a 9.7% stake, Scott held 86%, Sokol held 3%, and Abel held 1%. The merger resulted in company becoming a
privately held company. Existing
management and operational structures were retained. On May 24, 2005, BHE agreed to acquire PacifiCorp from
ScottishPower for $5.1 billion in
cash, plus $4.3 billion in assumed
debt and
preferred stock. ScottishPower had purchased PacifiCorp in 1999 for approximately $10 billion. Under ScottishPower's
ownership, PacifiCorp
failed to achieve projected
revenue growth and reported
earnings below expectations,
disappointing investors. In November 2004, ScottishPower
initiated a
review of PacifiCorp, which contributed about half of the parent company's earnings. Following an assessment of
capital requirements and
regulatory developments, ScottishPower determined
divestiture was appropriate. On March 18, 2006, BHE announced that it had received final regulatory approval to complete its acquisition of PacifiCorp, with the transaction expected to close by March 22. Regulatory approvals were obtained from the six state
public utility commissions overseeing PacifiCorp’s service
territories, as well as from the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the
U.S. Department of Justice. BHE stated that the regulatory process was completed within ten months of the announcement. BHE also committed to
invest approximately $1 billion annually for at least five years to
upgrade PacifiCorp’s
electricity infrastructure, including
transmission systems and emissions reductions at
coal-fired plants. On March 21, 2006, BHE finalized the acquisition of all outstanding
common stock of PacifiCorp from PHI, a subsidiary of Scottish Power. This transaction was executed under the terms of a
Stock Purchase Agreement dated May 23, 2005, among BHE, ScottishPower, and PHI, as amended on March 21, 2006. The cash purchase price totaled $5,109,500,000. Following the acquisition, BHE held control of approximately 99.76% of PacifiCorp's
voting securities, inclusive of preferred stock. Funding for the purchase was derived from BHE's sale of $5.07 billion in BHE common stock to Berkshire Hathaway and $35.5 million in the same stock to other BHE
shareholders.
David L. Sokol was CEO until early 2008. He left Berkshire in 2011 after he personally made a $3 million profit from Berkshire Hathaway's purchase of
Lubrizol. On April 30, 2014, MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company announced it had changed its
name to Berkshire Hathaway Energy, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway. Greg Abel, the company’s
chief executive, stated that the new name reflected the benefits of Berkshire Hathaway’s ownership—particularly the
ability to reinvest in businesses and
maintain a long-term perspective on customer
needs. This change aligned with a broader trend among Berkshire Hathaway subsidiaries of adopting the parent company’s name to leverage its greater
brand recognition compared to “MidAmerican.” Subsidiaries such as PacifiCorp and NV Energy retained their existing names and local management structures. The company reported $1.64 billion in profit on $12.74 billion in revenue for 2013, contributing nearly 8% to Berkshire Hathaway’s overall profit that year. Berkshire Hathaway held an 89.8% stake in the company, having initially acquired 76% in 2000. At the time, the company held approximately $70 billion in assets and served 8.4 million customers. In August 2022, Berkshire Hathaway acquired a 1% stake in the company from
Greg Abel for $870 million. In October 2024, Berkshire Hathaway purchased the remaining 8% stake from the
family of
Walter Scott Jr. following his
death three years prior, bringing the company's ownership to 100%. ==Subsidiaries==