Billionaire financier and Berkshire Hathaway Chief Executive Warren Buffett attends the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders meeting in Omaha, Nebraska May 2, 2009.  He has put his biggest bet on Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp (BNSF), second largest U.S. railroad company, according to a statement released on November 4, 2009 (XINHUA)

Renowned investor Warren Buffett has put his biggest bet on Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp (BNSF), second largest U.S. railroad company, according to a statement released on Tuesday.

Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. will pay 100 dollars per share in cash for the 78 percent of BNSF that it has not already owned, which comes to a total of 34 billion U.S. dollars. The price is 31.5 percent premium on BNSF's closing price on Monday.

Plus BNSF's 10 billion-dollar debt that Berkshire has agreed to take, the value of the deal will top 44 billion dollars, which is the biggest acquisition ever for Berkshire.

The investment in BNSF is "a huge bet on that company, CEO MattRose and his team, and the railroad industry," Buffett said in the statement.

"It's an all-in wager on the economic future of the United States. I love these bets," he said.

The deal has been approved by boards of both companies, and will be completed in the first quarter next year.

(Xinhua News Agency November 4, 2009)