A weekend "brought in" $10 billion for Berkshire, while Goldman Sachs helped Google finalize the "most surprising" "massive new share issuance."

A rare, massive equity financing by Google’s parent company Alphabet is reshaping the capital operation logic of technology giants.

On June 2nd, according to Bloomberg, Goldman Sachs quietly called Berkshire Hathaway over a weekend, and new CEO Greg Abel made a quick decision within 24 hours to become a cornerstone investor, securing $10 billion for Alphabet. This triggered a total equity financing plan of up to $80 billion—one of the largest equity financings in the history of major U.S. publicly listed companies. Buffett commented afterwards: "Greg did it faster and more smoothly than I did."

This financing marks a critical turning point: Tech giants who have long relied on their own cash flow and debt financing to supply the AI arms race are now turning to the equity market to seek incremental funds. This is not only a signal of Alphabet’s bet on AI infrastructure, but also reflects how AI infrastructure investment is reshaping the rules of the capital markets.

Goldman Sachs intermediated over a weekend, Abel made a quick decision

The speed at which this deal was struck impressed the market.

Reportedly, Goldman Sachs bankers called Berkshire Hathaway urgently over the weekend to seek support for Alphabet's private placement. According to a previous article by Wallstreetcn, sources revealed that discussions on this deal between the two parties were rapidly finalized within 24 hours.

Greg Abel, who officially succeeded Buffett as Berkshire’s CEO earlier this year, promptly gave his positive response. Buffett told CNBC this week, "Greg did it faster and more smoothly than I did, and I've never talked with that CEO. He’s already on his way."

Goldman Sachs acted as agent for Berkshire’s private placement in this deal, and together with JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley, was joint bookrunner for the overall equity offering.

Reportedly, Alphabet’s $80 billion financing plan consists of three parts.

The first part is a $10 billion private placement directed to Berkshire Hathaway, locked in on Monday.The second part is a $30 billion underwritten offering, including a blend of common shares and mandatory convertible preferred shares, with pricing scheduled for Tuesday.The third part is an “at the market” (ATM) program, potentially up to $40 billion, with stock to be gradually sold to the market starting from the third quarter.

Berkshire enters with a discount, Abel’s biggest bet yet

According to a Wallstreetcn article, this $10 billion private placement uses Alphabet’s closing price of $376 as a benchmark, with $5 billion of A-class common shares at about a 6% discount, and $5 billion of C-class common shares priced at $348.20, an almost 8% discount.

However, this is not Berkshire’s first investment in Alphabet.

Reportedly, Berkshire has been building a position in Alphabet since 2025, and as of the end of March this year, held A and C shares worth about $16.6 billion in total. In the first quarter of this year alone, Berkshire increased its holdings by nearly 40 million shares—Abel’s largest increase in a single quarter since becoming CEO.

After this private placement, Berkshire’s total position in Alphabet will rise to about $32 billion, accounting for about one-tenth of its stock portfolio. Alphabet will thus join Berkshire’s top five publicly held stocks, matching longtime holding Coca-Cola, which currently has a market value of over $31 billion.

Notably, this investment does not include additional terms commonly seen in Buffett’s historic deals, such as warrants or preferred dividends—the main benefit to Berkshire is its discounted entry.

Bloomberg noted this is distinct from Buffett’s arrangements in the 2008 financial crisis, when he injected capital into Goldman Sachs and GE by receiving 10% dividend preferred shares, and his rescue of Bank of America in 2011, which included warrants in the deal.

This arrangement signals that under Abel’s leadership, Berkshire is moving more aggressively toward the technology and AI sector.

Since becoming CEO this year, Abel has quickly taken a series of bold moves. On the same Sunday (May 31) as the Alphabet deal was announced, Berkshire also declared plans to acquire homebuilder Taylor Morrison Home Corp. for $6.8 billion, marking Abel’s first major acquisition since taking office.

AI capital expenditure pressures force a change in financing model

Alphabet’s move to the equity market reflects the surging demand for capital for AI infrastructure investments, which has surpassed the capability of conventional financing channels.

According to a Wallstreetcn article, Alphabet reaffirmed plans to spend $190 billion in capital expenditures this year, and expects that figure to "increase significantly" by 2027. Over the past year, Alphabet’s operating cash flow totaled $174 billion—capital spending has exceeded internal cash generation.

For years, giants like Alphabet have mainly relied on strong free cash flow and bond issuance to fund AI investment, alongside massive buybacks for shareholders. Morgan Stanley estimates that by 2028, the credit market will provide up to $1.5 trillion to finance global data center construction, making debt financing a mainstream path for the industry.

(By 2028, the credit market will offer $1.5 trillion for global data center expenditures)

This round of massive equity financing signals that the funding gap for AI infrastructure can no longer be filled only by debt or cash flow—tech giants’ capital strategies are undergoing structural change. Alphabet stated that AI is bringing the company "an expansionary moment" and this financing will help "support major future growth opportunities."

Bloomberg points out that this financing is also the most unexpected in this year’s wave of major deals—the market had expected the capital market focus to be on IPOs of tech unicorns like SpaceX and Anthropic, but a large, already-leading public company returning to the equity market at this scale is truly rare.

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