Berkshire Hathaway Prepares to Sell Part of its VRSN.US Stake, Raising Up to $1.25 Billion

We have learned that Berkshire Hathaway Inc., led by Warren Buffett, plans to sell approximately one-third of its stake in VRSN.US, a domain registration service provider. Since Berkshire first started building its position in this company over 10 years ago, this sale will lock in a significant gain.

Informed sources reveal that Berkshire's subsidiary is poised to sell 4.3 million shares of VRSN.US stock at a price range of $285 to $290 per share (VRSN's headquarters are located in Reston, Virginia). A statement released on Monday shows that after the transaction is completed, Berkshire will still hold a remaining stake with a one-year lock-up period. Bloomberg estimates that this price range is a discount of up to 6.9% compared to the previous day's closing price.

As of the time of our report, VRSN's stock price fell by 7.1% in overnight trading, reaching $285 per share. As of Monday's closing price, the stock has accumulated a gain of 47.8%, briefly touching its historical high point earlier this year.

According to informed sources, this stock sale is expected to be priced overnight. Representatives of Berkshire and VRSN have not yet responded to our request for comment.

The prospectus shows that Berkshire's subsidiary has held a stake in VRSN since 2012, when the company's stock price peaked at $49.50 per share.

The prospectus also reveals that after this sale, Berkshire will reduce its holding ratio in VRSN from 14.2% to 9.6%. Prior to the sale, Berkshire held approximately 13.3 million shares of VRSN stock.

A statement shows that Morgan Stanley will be responsible for handling this stock sale transaction.