<<I believe the excerpt below of the agreement is pretty clear. If he follows this procedure, he doesn't have to wait a minute... He just has to present the offer confidentially to the BOD, they have to agree, and then we get to agree w/o his voting his shares in any way other then in concert w/ours...>>

Louis -
I was addressing the notion that he can just steal the company at $5/share. The requirements of the agreement present a pretty good obstacle to this. Nevermind that Buffett doesn't steal companies as a matter of general practice, i.e. he doesn't operate the way that quic is suggesting a la scumbags like Ronald Perlman.

Sure, if USG looks to be going to zero, under the terms of the agreement the board can consider an offer from Buffett to save it. It is in my best interests that the clause IS in there. This means that unless Buffett abandons USG altogether in the event of catastrophe, I get greater than zero for my shares.

From the 10-K:
"Among other things, the shareholder’s agreement limits during the standstill period Berkshire Hathaway’s acquisitions of beneficial ownership of our voting stock to 40% of our voting stock on a fully diluted basis,..."

Here's the except part:
"...except in limited circumstances, and the manner in which it may seek to effect an acquisition or other extraordinary transaction involving USG."

Also, Buffett must either tender an offer for the entire company, or if he doesn't do this, he must ultimately offer the same price to all shareholders. Also, as I read it, regardless of how he attempts a purchase, a majority of shareholders must approve any deal.

Unless I'm reading all this wrong, he's got a tough road to hoe in order to steal the company as quic suggests he's going to do.