Berkshire to Buy OxyChem for $9.7B

Berkshire Hathaway will acquire Occidental Petroleum’s petrochemical unit OxyChem for $9.7 billion in an all-cash deal. Occidental plans to use about $6.5 billion of the proceeds to pay down debt, de-lever its balance sheet and refocus on its core oil-and-gas business. OxyChem, which produces PVC resin, VCM and water-treatment chemicals, will become an operating subsidiary of Berkshire, incoming CEO Greg Abel said, and the sale is expected to close in the fourth quarter. The transaction—Berkshire's largest deal in roughly three years—builds on Warren Buffett’s existing stake in Occidental and lifted Occidental shares in premarket trading. Analysts say the sale is part of a broader wave of asset sales by heavily leveraged industrial firms and signals Berkshire remains willing to deploy its substantial cash hoard late in Buffett’s tenure.