Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (Berkshire; Omaha, Nebraska) has agreed to acquire OxyChem, the chemicals business of Occidental Petroleum Corp. (Oxy; Houston), for $9.7 billion in cash, the two companies announced on Oct. 2. The deal has been the subject of speculation since Sept. 28, when the Financial Times, citing unnamed sources, reported that negotiations were in an advanced stage.
The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter. Under the purchase agreement, an Oxy subsidiary will retain OxyChem’s legacy environmental liabilities.
OxyChem is a producer of chlor-alkali, vinyls and polyvinyl chloride. Almost all of its production assets are located in North America. OxyChem turned in segment earnings of $1.1 billion in 2024 on sales of $4.9 billion. North American peers in the vinyls business are Olin and Westlake.
“This transaction strengthens our financial position and catalyzes a significant resource opportunity we’ve been building in our oil and gas business for the last decade,” said Vicki Hollub, Oxy’s president and CEO, in a press statement.
Oxy said it plans to put $6.5 billion of the proceeds toward reducing its debt to $15 billion. The company, which finished 2024 with about $24 billion in debt, announced divestitures totaling nearly $4 billion during the first half of 2025.
“Berkshire is acquiring a robust portfolio of operating assets, supported by an accomplished team,” said Greg Abel, vice chairman/non-insurance operations at Berkshire, the global conglomerate led by investor Warren Buffett. “We look forward to welcoming OxyChem as an operating subsidiary within Berkshire.”
Berkshire is already the largest shareholder in Oxy, with 26.91%, according to data from S&P Capital IQ. Berkshire holds cash and short-term investments totaling $344 billion, versus debt of $127 billion.
Berkshire’s last major chemical acquisition was The Lubrizol Corp., which the company bought in 2011 for $9.7 billion. Lubrizol remains a wholly owned subsidiary.
by Clay Boswell
Source: chemweek.com
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