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3w ago

Berkshire Hathaway to Acquire Occidental’s OxyChem for $9.7 Billion

The all-cash purchase helps Occidental accelerate deleveraging by directing $6.5 billion toward its sub-$15 billion debt target.

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Warren Buffett attends the Berkshire Hathaway Inc annual shareholders' meeting in 2024.
The acquisition of OxyChem would be Berkshire’s second major acquisition in the chemicals business. It bought specialty-chemicals company Lubrizol in 2011, for around $10 billion.
Philanthropist Warren Buffett is joined onstage by 24 other philanthropist and influential business people featured on the Forbes list of 100 Greatest Business Minds.

Overview

  • The companies said they expect the transaction to close in the fourth quarter of 2025.
  • An Occidental subsidiary will retain OxyChem’s legacy environmental liabilities, including cleanup costs tied to facilities in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
  • Occidental CEO Vicki Hollub said the debt reduction will enable the company to resume share buybacks once targets are met.
  • Berkshire already owns roughly 28% of Occidental after financing its 2019 Anadarko acquisition with $10 billion in preferred shares and warrants.
  • The deal is Berkshire’s largest since the 2022 Alleghany purchase and adds a chemicals producer that generated about $5 billion in revenue over the past year.