Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway seals $37.2bn deal

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has agreed to acquire metal parts manufacturer Precision Castparts for $37.2bn, the billionaire's largest ever acquisition.

Berkshire Hathaway, which is sitting on a huge cash pile, already owns a 3% stake in Precision Castparts, which makes aircraft components and energy-production equipment.

It counts Airbus and Boeing among its clients, which purchase aircraft grade components such as nuts, bolts and fasteners from the company. The aerospace sector accounts for about 70% of its sales.

Buffet said in a statement: "I've admired PCC's operation for a long time. For good reasons, it is the supplier of choice for the world's aerospace industry, one of the largest sources of American exports."

Berkshire Hathaway, which has a market value of around $354bn, also has interests in rail, insurance and manufacturing.

It is sitting on $66.5bn in cash, which Buffet has earmarked for takeover deals. While the acquisition of Precision Castparts will wipe off almost half of the cashpile, Berkshire will still have more than $20bn in its coffers.

According to its latest set of results, Precision reported a profit of $1.53bn on net sales of $10bn last year.