ge raises 15 billion and buffett buys in

GE Raises $15 Billion; Buffett Gets Preferred Stake

By Rachel Layne and Erik Holm

(Corrects spelling of Buffett in headline.)

Oct. 1 (Bloomberg) -- General Electric Co. plans to offer $12 billion in common shares and billionaire investor Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. will buy $3 billion in preferred shares.

Buffett's stake will pay an annual 10 percent dividend and are callable after three years at a 10 percent premium, Fairfield, Connecticut-based GE said today in a statement. Buffett also gets warrants to buy $3 billion of common stock with a strike price of $22.25 a share for five years.

The offering and stake will let GE accelerate the plan Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Immelt announced last week to bolster its finances amid volatile financial markets. Buffett, 78, last month bought $5 billion in Goldman Sachs Group Inc. preferred shares to show faith in the investment banking company.

``GE is the symbol of American business to the world,'' Buffett said in the statement. ``I have been a friend and admirer of GE and its leaders for decades. I am confident that GE will continue to be successful in the years to come.''