Investment conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway has successfully completed its acquisition of chemicals division OxyChem for a total value of $9.7 billion, as per an official press release dated January 2nd, 2026.
The update comes as the Sage of Omaha steps back, handing the leadership reins to Greg Abel, who was formerly Vice President at the company. The initial deal was the last acquisition Warren Buffett presided over as Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway.
“Berkshire Hathaway today announced it has completed the acquisition of OxyChem from Occidental for $9.7 billion, subject to customary post-closing purchase price adjustments. OxyChem is a leading producer of essential chemistry with operations in the U.S., Canada and Latin America,” read the statement.
“Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, OxyChem is a top three U.S. manufacturer of polyvinyl chloride, chlor-alkali and chlorinated organic chemicals, and calcium chloride. OxyChem’s products play an essential role in everyday life, supporting critical applications in water treatment, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, manufacturing, automotive, personal hygiene, and residential and commercial construction,” it also said.
Post acquisition, OxyChem will continue to be led by president and CEO Wade Alleman.
Buffett passes on a company that he led for six decades, growing it from a struggling textile business to one of America’s largest corporate institutions, with investment stakes in Coca-Cola, Chevron, and Bank of America.
Under his leadership, Warren was known to shy away from stocks in tech and footwear, preferring to invest in or acquire businesses that were reliable, provided regular earnings, and had a long-term successful track record—an approach known as value investing, wherein he would choose businesses that he felt were reasonably priced.
Buffett took part in dealmaking less often towards the end of his tenure. The OxyChem acquisition was the last deal he approved, as he said later on in a letter that he felt opportunities for good acquisitions in the current market were slim. Prior to the OxyChem deal, Berkshire Hathaway acquired financial firm Allegheny for a total of $11.6 billion.
In a rare departure from his conventional approach of chasing time-tested businesses, Berkshire disclosed a stake in tech company Alphabet roughly worth $4.9 billion at the time of purchase—still sizeably smaller than the company’s largest investments, but big enough to signal a change in investing philosophy among the higher-ups of the company.
Berkshire Hathaway has sizeable chunks of Apple and Amazon stock today as well, both purchases made under Buffett’s tenure, with Apple being the company’s largest investment in the technology sector.
Buffett initially kept a distance from technology, including firms like Amazon and Google, but late said in an interview with CNBC that he missed out on early mover opportunity; he admitted that his reluctance to invest in both firms were mistakes after they showed huge growth in the stock market.
According to Reuters, shares of Berkshire Hathaway traded lower on Friday. Berkshire Hathaway will now reckon with a new business environment that favours AI and tech heavily as Silicon Valley companies chase growth.