Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway gets nod to buy up to 50% of Occidental Petroleum

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, on 19 August, received regulatory approval to buy up to 50 per cent of oil giant Occidental Petroleum’s common stock. This after it spent months snapping up its shares. According to news agency Reuters, the stakes of Occidental jumped around 10 per cent. A report by CNBC revealed that this rise helped push Occidental’s 2022 gains to more than 145 per cent. The share reportedly soared to 9.9 per cent in the wake of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) stating that letting Berkshire add to its 20.2 percent share was “consistent with the public interest.” CNBC further added that it was on 11 July that an application by Berkshire was filed with FERC to purchase more of Occidental’s common stock in secondary market transactions. In addition, the multinational conglomerate argued that a maximum of 50 per cent of the shares won’t diminish the regulatory authority or hurt the competition. Currently, Berkshire reportedly holds 188.5 million shares of the oil giant, which is equivalent to 20.2 per cent of the position. Needless to say, the news sparked speculations that the CEO of Berkshire will be interested in acquiring the entire company after increasing his stakes at low prices. The media outlet quoted Berkshire shareholder and president of Smead Capital Management Cole Smead as saying, “He will likely continue to buy as much as he can get below $70 or $75. If you own 30 per cent or 40 per cent and would like to buy it out at $95 or $100, you saved a lot of money.” Calling the stock trades “a casino,” Smead added that “The market is giving him all the stock he wants.” For those who don’t know, reportedly Berkshire also holds $10 billion of the oil company’s preferred stock and has warrants to purchase another 83.9 million common shares for $5 billion, or $59.62 each. Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.