Warren Buffett will speak at the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting held in Omaha, Nebraska on May 3, 2025.
CNBC
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway announced Thursday it had reached a deal to purchase Oxychem, the Occiden petrochemical unit, for $9.7 billion in cash.
The deal is Berkshire’s biggest since 2022, when it paid $11.6 billion to insurer Alleghany. It also comes when the conglomerate sits on the company’s record of $344 billion in cash.
Occidental’s shares rose 1.3% in pre-market trading on Thursday.
Berkshire is already a major investor in Occidental, holding a 28.2% stake as of the end of June. Buffett, who will step down as CEO at the end of the year at the age of 95, says he will not take control of the oil company entirely.
Oxychem manufactures water treatment, healthcare and other commercially available chemicals. Occidental said it would use $6.5 billion in revenue to repay the debt.
Occidental CEO Vicki Hollub said the debt reductions caused by the transaction will allow her company to resume buying shares.
“This allows us to start adding some of our previously unsuccessful value propositions,” Hollub said Thursday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “So now we will be able to start our shared purchasing program again.”
Berkshire last signed a contract in the chemical space in 2011. This bought Lubrizol on a similar $10 billion figure.
“We look forward to welcoming Oxichem as an operating subsidiary within Berkshire,” Greg Abel, vice-chairman for non-insurance businesses at Berkshire, said in a press release.
Abel, who will replace Buffett as Berkshire CEO in 2026, added that Hollub “indicating Occidental’s commitment to long-term financial stability.”
The companies expect the transaction to close in the fourth quarter. The Wall Street Journal first reported on the deal earlier this week.
