Buffett Spends $3bn On Duracell Purchase

The legendary 84-year old investor, Warren Buffett, is to buy the Duracell battery business.

His Berkshire Hathaway investment vehicle is to pay $3bn (£1.9bn) to Procter & Gamble (P&G).

The consumer goods firm, which took control of Duracell when it bought Gillette in 2005, had previously announced its intention to slim down.

Buffett said in a statement: “I have always been impressed by Duracell, as a consumer and as a long-term investor in P&G and Gillette.”

He made headlines in the UK last month when he described his investment in Tesco (Xetra: 852647 - news) as a "huge mistake."

The 'Oracle (NYSE: ORCL - news) of Omaha' - as some admirers describe him - recently revealed that Berkshire had lost $678m (£427m) in three months as he slashed his stake in the UK's biggest retailer.

Tesco's recent problems have included a criminal investigation into its £263m profits over-statement and plunging sales.

Berkshire said that, under the terms of the Duracell deal, P&G would receive shares of its own stock that are currently held by Berkshire Hathaway (Sao Paolo: BERK34.SA - news) , resulting in a net purchase price of $3bn.

The agreement is expected to close next year.