Occidental Petroleum (OXY) has officially sealed its biggest divestment yet, selling its chemical unit OxyChem to Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) (BRK.B) for $9.7 billion. The move is not just a headline-making M&A story; it’s a turning point in Occidental’s multi-year effort to clean up its debt-heavy balance sheet after blockbuster acquisitions.
Occidental said it will apply $6.5 billion of the proceeds directly toward debt reduction, taking principal debt below the $15 billion target set after last year’s $12 billion CrownRock acquisition. That’s a big milestone for a company still carrying $23.3 billion in debt as of June.
