Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway to buy OxyChem in $10 billion acquisition

Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is set to acquire Occidental Petroleum Corp’s petrochemical business for around $10 billion, according to Bloomberg. This would be Berkshire’s biggest deal since its acquisition of Alleghany Corp. in 2022 for $13.7 billion. It would also be Occidental’s largest divestment till date.

This deal for the OxyChem petrochem unit, which generated nearly $5 billion in sales in the 12 months ended in June, would be Warren Buffett’s second big bet on chemicals after Berkshire acquired specialty chemicals producer Lubrizol for nearly $10 billion including debt in 2011.

Occidental CEO Vicki Hollub traveled to Nebraska in 2019 to visit Buffett, whose company agreed to buy $10 billion of preferred shares in OXY, boosting her effort to outbid Chevron to buy Anadarko Petroleum. While this move received criticism and saddled the company with debt, Buffet doubled down, buying around 28% of the shares. He first started buying the stock after reading a transcript of the oil company’s earnings conference call. He reportedly took advantage of the heightened volatility in the COVID-19 pandemic to obtain the shares at a discount.

READ: Veteran investor Warren Buffet gives away $6 billion in Berkshire Hathaway stock (June 30, 2025)

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

Occidental also announced the sale of gas pipeline and other infrastructure to Enterprise Products Partners, a Houston-based oil and gas company. “We are extremely pleased with the progress of our divestiture program and the trajectory of our debt reduction plans,” Hollub said, on an earnings call last month.

This comes during a tough time for the U.S. oil industry with a 15% fall in prices this year. Earlier this year, oil giant ConocoPhilips announced plans to conduct mass layoffs. A spokesperson for the company confirmed that 20% to 25% of the company’s employees and contractors would be impacted worldwide, potentially affecting 2,600 to 3,250 workers. In February, Chevron announced job cuts of up to 20%.

Buffet has been back making deals of late after years of refraining from them, and progressively unwinding big holdings like his stake in Apple Inc. He also recently placed a $1.6 billion bet on UnitedHealth Group Inc.

Buffett, 95, is stepping down as Berkshire CEO at the end of 2025, but he will remain as chairman. He will be succeeded by Greg Abel, who was CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Energy.