Berkshire Hathaway announced this morning it would acquire Portland-based Precision Castparts Corp. for $235 a share, or approximately $37.2 billion.

The deal could close in first quarter 2016, provided shareholders sign off, according to a news release from Precision Castparts. The company makes metal components for the aerospace, power and general industrial markets. Precision Castparts operates a plant in Redmond, PCC Schlosser, which manufactures titanium castings for jet aircraft engines and other products.

The deal is reportedly the largest of its kind in Oregon history. Berkshire Hathaway would pay a 21 percent premium above the closing price Friday of Precision Castparts shares.

“In terms of price-earnings multiples going in, this is right up there at the top,” Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren E. Buffett said on CNBC. “This is a very high multiple for us to pay.”

Precision Castparts will retain its name and Portland headquarters, according to the news release. The company employs about 30,000 worldwide, including about 300 in its Redmond plant, according to The Bulletin archives.

Buffett told CNBC that his portfolio manager Todd Combs brought Precision Castparts to Buffett’s attention. Buffett said Combs added Precision to his portfolio about three years ago. Buffett said he met Precision’s CEO, Mark Donegan, at the Allen & Co. Sun Valley conference in July and made a bid for the company.

“I made him a bid and he took it to the board and before long we had a deal,” Buffett said on the CNBC “Squawk Box” program.

Donegan will continue running Precision Castparts, according to the company statement.

The company in its release quoted him as saying, “This transaction offers compelling and immediate value for our shareholders, and allows PCC’s employees to continue to operate in the same manner that has generated many years of exceptional service and performance to our customers.”

Precision Castparts last year received five years’ worth of property tax breaks to offset the $2 million cost of new machinery at the 52,000-square-foot plant on NE Hemlock Avenue, Redmond. The exemption, part of incentives provided for companies inside an enterprise zone, saved the company about $160,000. The expansion project included adding another 25 employees to the Redmond workforce, according to The Bulletin archives.

Deschutes County Administrator Tom Anderson said he hopes the sale leaves PCC Schlosser intact in Redmond. “We certainly hope that, as a major employer in Redmond, the business stays, and those jobs are kept local,” he said.

— Reporter: 541-617-7815,

jditzler@bendbulletin.com