Berkshire wins ResCap loan portfolio with $1.5 billion bid

(Reuters) - Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc ( BRKa.N ) won a bankruptcy auction for a Residential Capital LLC loan portfolio with a $1.5 billion bid, ResCap said on Thursday.

Berkshire had been the opening bidder for the portfolio of 47,000 whole loans at $1.44 billion. A second bidder participated in the auction, a source familiar with the situation said, but details weren't available.

A Berkshire Hathaway representative was not immediately available. A sale approval hearing is scheduled for November 19 before the bankruptcy court.

ResCap, the mortgage lending unit of Ally Financial Inc, filed for bankruptcy in May. It will use proceeds of the auction to repay creditors, including its parent.

On Wednesday, Ocwen Financial Corp ( OCN.N ) and Walter Investment Management Corp ( WAC.A ) prevailed in the auction for ResCap's mortgage business with a $3 billion bid that topped rival Nationstar Mortgage Holdings Inc ( NSM.N ). <ID: nL1E8LO71V>

Ally, majority owned by the U.S. government after a series of bailouts, is looking to focus on U.S. auto lending and banking after taking huge losses on ResCap's mortgages. It is also selling international businesses to help pay back taxpayers.

Centerview Partners LLC and FTI Consulting are acting as ResCap's financial advisers, while Morrison & Foerster LLP is acting as legal adviser. Morrison Cohen LLP is advising ResCap`s independent directors.

(Reporting By Rick Rothacker in Charlotte, N.C.)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/25/us-...ompanyNews