Speaking with Carol Loomis at Fortune's Most Powerful Women Summit on Tuesday, Buffett explained the process that led to Berkshire Hathaway's big deal of the summer , its $37 billion acquisition of Precision Castparts, a manufacturer of parts for airplanes. Buffett told Loomis he met with Precision Castparts CEO Mark Donegan for about 10 or 15 minutes and asked whether he would listen to a takeover offer from Berkshire.