Shaw Industries Inc., Dalton, Ga., has announced that Berkshire Hathaway Inc., Omaha, Neb., has
offered to purchase between 80.1 and 86 percent of the outstanding shares of Shaw Industries for
$19 per share in cash. The offer is subject to approval of Shaws Board of Directors and is not
subject to any financing contingencies.Robert E. Shaw, CEO and chairman of the Board of Directors,
Shaw Industries, and Julian D. Saul, president, Shaw Industries, together with members of their
immediate families, will each retain a minimum 5 percent ownership interest. Other shares not
purchased by Berkshire Hathaway would be owned by other members of management of Shaw Industries.
Shaw will continue to operate under its current management with the corporate headquarters
remaining in Dalton.The Shaw Board of Directors appointed a special committee of non-management
members of the Board, consisting of Thomas G. Cousins, J. Hicks Lanier, Robert J. Lunn and Roberto
Garza Delgado, to consider the offer and make a recommendation to the Board. No time frame was
established for the conclusion of the committees actions, but Berkshire Hathaway is prepared to
consummate the proposed transaction as soon as practicable, according to a spokesman for Shaw
Industries.Both Shaw and Saul expressed to the Board their support in principle for the proposed
transaction.
October 2000
