Oracle

Buffett Adds CenterPoint to Energy Portfolio with $1.31B Loan

Warren Buffett, the “Omaha Oracle” whose knack for investment risk has turned a mighty profit for believers, added another energy company to his hefty portfolio on Friday, as Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) agreed to loan cash-poor CenterPoint Energy Inc. $1.31 billion. The three-year loan, which carries a 12.75% interest rate, ensures CenterPoint will make a Nov. 15 deadline to pay off a $400 million facility, and more important, allow it to maintain a $4.7 billion credit facility.

November 11, 2002

Buffett, CSFB Rescue CenterPoint with $1.31B Loan

Warren Buffett, the “Omaha Oracle” whose knack for investment risk has turned a mighty profit for believers, added another energy company to his hefty portfolio on Friday, as Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) agreed to loan cash-poor CenterPoint Energy Inc. $1.31 billion. The three-year loan, which carries a 12.75% interest rate, ensures CenterPoint will make a Nov. 15 deadline to pay off a $400 million facility, and more important, allow it to maintain a $4.7 billion credit facility.

November 11, 2002