"Buffett wasn't mentioned anywhere in materials released by Berkshire Hathaway discussing the deal Thursday, potentially signaling a passing of the torch to Vice Chair Greg Abel, to whom Buffett will hand the CEO title in January. Buffett will remain chairman at Berkshire and will still be involved in deciding how to spend the conglomerate's colossal pile of more than $344 billion cash."
"OxyChem makes things like chlorine for water treatment, vinyl chloride for plastics and calcium chloride that's used to treat icy roads along with an assortment of other chemicals. It will fit nicely within Berkshire alongside Lubrizol, which Buffett bought in 2011 for $9 billion. "Berkshire is acquiring a robust portfolio of operating assets, supported by an accomplished team," Abel said in a prepared statement. "We look forward to welcoming OxyChem as an operating subsidiary within Berkshire.""
"OxyChem generated $213 million in pretax earnings for Occidental in the second quarter, though that is down from last year when it generated nearly $300 million for the company. This year, Occidental has been selling off some of its assets in the Permian Basin to generate $950 million to pay down debt. Since it completed the CrownRock acquisition in December 2023, Occidental has sold off roughly $4 billion worth of assets to help it pay down $7.5 billion in debt."
Berkshire Hathaway is buying Occidental Petroleum's chemical division, OxyChem, for $9.7 billion. The deal names Greg Abel as the public lead, as Buffett will hand the CEO title to Abel in January but will remain chairman and retain involvement in capital allocation. Berkshire holds more than $344 billion in cash and has sought major acquisitions since the 2022 Alleghany purchase. OxyChem produces chlorine, vinyl chloride and calcium chloride and complements Lubrizol. OxyChem posted $213 million in second-quarter pretax earnings, down from nearly $300 million the prior year, while Occidental has sold assets to reduce $7.5 billion in debt.
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