Warren Buffett in talks to buy Occidental

Warren Buffett is in talks to buy Occidental Petroleum's petrochemicals division for around $10 billion, according to sources close to the negotiations cited by the Wall Street Journal. The deal, which would be the largest for Berkshire Hathaway since 2022, could materialise in a matter of days. Houston-based Occidental is best known for its oil and gas operations.

The company has a market capitalisation of approximately $46 billion and already has Berkshire as its largest shareholder. Occidental's petrochemicals division, OxyChem, produces and sells chemicals used in applications ranging from water chlorination to battery recycling and paper production. The unit generated nearly $5 billion in sales in the 12 months ended June. If the talks do not break down, the OxyChem acquisition would be Buffett's second big bet in the chemicals sector: in 2011, B

erkshire Hathaway had in fact acquired the specialty chemicals manufacturer Lubrizol for almost $10 billion, including debt. Yesterday, the Financial Times had revealed ongoing negotiations without, however, identifying the shareholder. Occidental Petroleum was founded in 1920 in Los Angeles by a small group of investors. In 1957 Armand Hammer joined the company and bought a large share and became its president. It was he who turned a small regional company into an international giant, thanks to contracts in Libya, the Middle East and with the Soviet Union