What was his last big deal as Berkshire CEO before Abel took over?

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The transaction is based on already close relationships between companies. Berkshire is Occidental’s largest shareholder with a nearly 27% stake, currently at $11.9 billion.

Additionally, Occidental has paid an 8% dividend on Berkshire’s more than $8 billion in preferred stock after it was a loan in 2019 to help Oxy buy Anadarko Petroleum.

As part of that agreement, Berkshire currently holds a warrant to purchase nearly 84 million Oxy common stock at just under $60 per share.

Despite these relationships, Buffett said two years ago that Berkshire would not try to win Occidental in full.

In a live interview with CNBC’s “Scoobox” on the morning of the announcement, CEO Vicki Hollub said it would use the $6.5 billion Oxychem purchase price to lower its debt and would fall below the $15 billion target set when it bought Permian Basin producer Crownrock for $1.2 million in late 2023.

“Now we can start a stock buyback program again…

“All we had to do was improve our balance sheet. So I think this was the last big step we needed and now we’re running out of nowhere to cherish what will be coming out at a much faster pace for our shareholders.”

Wall Street is not as positive as Hollub’s dealings.

Occidental Petroleum shares fell 8.1% on Thursday, the day of the announcement, but bouncing slightly to close the week with a 5.5% drop.

Barron’s is dull in its ratings.

This is expected to be higher, saying “purchasing prices could be a bargain as sector revenues are falling this year.”

Furthermore, Occidental loses its chemical business that helps distinguish it from its energy rivals.

It will also face a $1.7 billion tax hit that Berkshire would have been eliminated to pay the transaction using Oxy preferred stock.

This means that Occidental will likely pay more than $600 million in dividends annually until the preferred stock is scheduled to be redeemed in 2029.

Meanwhile, Fortune highlights the Western language’s profits of reducing debt burden.

“For Berkshire, it’s completely selfish, logical and meaningless, to support a company that owns about 30%,” said Doug Leggate, a research analyst at Wolfe.

That’s how Berkshire’s Greg Abel played it in a news release of his deal that, interestingly, never mentioned Buffett’s name.

“As shown in our plan to use revenues to strengthen our balance sheet, we commend Vicki and the Occidental team for their commitment to Western long-term financial stability.”

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Berkshire Top Holdings is making public stocks publicly available in the US, Japan and Hong Kong by market value based on today’s closing price.

Holdings are as of June 30, 2025, as reported in Berkshire Hathaway’s 13th Floor Submission on August 14, 2025.

A complete list of Holdings and current market values ​​is available from the Berkshire Hathaway Portfolio Tracker at CNBC.com.

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– Alex Crippen, Editor, Warren Buffett Watch