Warren Buffett's Berkshire nears deal to buy OxyChem for $10 billion

By David Carnevali, David Wethe and Alexandre Rajbhandari

 

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is nearing a deal to acquire Occidental Petroleum Corp.’s petrochemical business for about $10 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter.

 

The transaction could be announced in coming days, the person said, asking not to be identified because the talks are confidential. It would be Berkshire’s largest deal since its acquisition of Alleghany Corp. in 2022 for $13.7 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. 

 

Representatives for Occidental and Berkshire didn’t immediately reply to messages seeking comment. The Wall Street Journal reported on the potential deal earlier Tuesday. 

 

 

After years spent refraining from large deals and progressively unwinding big holdings like his stake in Apple Inc., Buffett appears to be back on the offensive. The 95-year-old chief executive officer, set to leave that role at the end of the year, placed a $1.6 billion bet on UnitedHealth Group Inc. in recent months.

 

Still, the conglomerate’s cash pile totaled $344 billion at the end of June, close to a record. 

 

Occidental, which is backed by Berkshire, has announced almost $4 billion of asset sales since the start of last year as it works to pay down debt. It bought smaller rival CrownRock LP last year for $10.8 billion.

 

OxyChem — which makes basic chemicals such as chlorine, sodium hydroxide and vinyl products — is expected to generate pretax income of $800 million to $900 million this year, according to company filings.