NEW YORK (Bloomberg) - Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s offer to accept bond insurance business from rivals including MBIA Inc. has been withdrawn, chairman Warren Buffett told CNBC.

"It's not on the table," Mr. Buffett told the cable news network in an interview yesterday.

As defaults on mortgage-related securities climbed, Mr. Buffett offered last month to assume $800 billion of municipal bond obligations from MBIA, Ambac Financial Group Inc. and FGIC Corp. in exchange for more than $9 billion in premiums. The companies rejected the offer, Mr. Buffett said.

"We tossed our hat in the ring and they tossed the hat back," Mr. Buffett said.

Berkshire, based in Omaha, Nebraska, started a new bond insurer in December, charging more than rivals to guarantee payment on municipal debt while avoiding the mortgage-related securities that jeopardised their credit ratings.