Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway to invest $10B in Oxy subject to Anadarko takeover

Billionaire Warren Buffett’s company Berkshire Hathaway has committed to invest $10 billion in Occidental Petroleum, subject to Oxy’s entering into and completing its proposed acquisition of rival Anadarko.
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According to Oxy’s statement on Tuesday, Berkshire Hathaway will receive 100,000 shares of Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock with a liquidation value of $100,000 per share, together with a warrant to purchase up to 80.0 million shares of Occidental common stock at an exercise price of $62.50 per share. The preferred stock will accrue dividends at 8% per annum (or with respect to dividends that are accrued and unpaid, 9%).

As previously reported, Occidental last week made a proposal to acquire Anadarko for $76.00 per share, comprised of $38.00 in cash and 0.6094 shares of Occidental common stock per Anadarko share. Oxy’s offer has been estimated at $38 billion, versus Chevron’s $33 billion.

On April 29, Anadarko said its board of directors had determined that the proposal from Occidental could reasonably be expected to result in a Superior Proposal compared to a bid submitted earlier by Chevron and that it would engage with Occidental.

Thrilled by Berkshire support

“We have long believed that Occidental is uniquely positioned to generate compelling value from Anadarko’s highly complementary asset portfolio. We are thrilled to have Berkshire Hathaway’s financial support of this exciting opportunity,” said Vicki Hollub, President and Chief Executive Officer of Occidental. “We look forward to engaging with Anadarko’s Board of Directors to deliver this superior transaction to our respective shareholders.”

The preferred stock to be issued to Berkshire Hathaway will be redeemable for cash (in whole or in part) at the option of Occidental commencing on the tenth anniversary of issuance at a redemption price equal to 105% of the liquidation preference plus accumulated and unpaid dividends, if any.

The preferred stock will also be mandatorily redeemable for cash (in whole or in part) upon certain specified capital return events. Dividends will be paid in cash or, at Occidental’s option, in shares of Occidental common stock. The warrant to be issued with the preferred stock may be exercised in whole or in part and from time to time, until one year after the redemption of the preferred stock.

The preferred stock and the warrant are being issued and sold in a private offering.

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