OXY Stock Rises As Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Reaches Deal To Acquire OxyChem For $9.7 Billion

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A) (BRK.B) on Thursday announced that it has reached a deal to acquire OxyChem from Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY) for $9.7 billion.

OXY stock rose more than 1% after the announcement of the deal during Thursday’s pre-market trading. Retail sentiment on Stocktwits around the company was in the ‘extremely bullish’ territory.

“We look forward to welcoming OxyChem as an operating subsidiary within Berkshire,” said Greg Abel, Vice Chairman of Non-Insurance Operations at Berkshire.

According to the release, Occidental intends to use $6.5 billion of the proceeds to pare debt and achieve the target of principal debt below $15 billion set following the December 2023 announcement of its CrownRock acquisition. 

Berkshire Hathaway’s shares edged 0.25% lower in Thursday’s pre-market trade. Retail sentiment on Stocktwits around the company was in the ‘bearish’ territory.

This is the largest deal entered into by Berkshire since 2022, when the company acquired insurance provider Alleghany for $11.6 billion. It also comes months ahead of a change of guard at Berkshire, with Buffett stepping down as the company’s CEO at the end of the year.

Abel, who will succeed Buffett, commended Occidental Petroleum and its CEO, Vicki Hollub, in the announcement, saying they are committed to “Occidental’s long-term financial stability, as demonstrated by their plan to use proceeds to reinforce the company’s balance sheet.”

Berkshire is also the top institutional holder in Occidental Petroleum, with a stake of 26.91% as of June 30, 2025. The company expects its OxyChem transaction to close in the fourth quarter of 2025, subject to regulatory approvals.

“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 Hollub.

In an interview with CNBC, Hollub added that as Occidental’s cash position grows, the company will start redeeming Berkshire’s preferred stock in 2029. This preferred stock was allotted to Berkshire after the latter bankrolled Occidental’s $10 billion acquisition of Anadarko Petroleum in 2019.

OXY stock is down 3% year-to-date, while BRK stock is up nearly 10%.

Also See: Fermi Stock Continues To Soar After Strong Debut On Nasdaq Yesterday

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.

Share

·

Add us on