Occidental Petroleum Corp (NYSE:OXY) is mulling a divestment of its 50% stake in Western Midstream Partners, according to a Reuters article published on Tuesday.
Western Midstream’s market capitalisation is currently valued at $11.76 billion, with debt bringing its enterprise value closer to $20 billion.
Occidental is at pains to bring down its $18.5 billion long-term debt pile following a spate of acquisitions, including the recently announced takeover of CrownRock for $12 billion.
The company said it intended to issue $9.1 billion in debt and about $1.7 billion in common stock to finance the transaction.
Per SEC filings, Berkshire held 25.3% of the outstanding Occidental common stock at a fair value of $14.54 billion as of 30 September 2023, with a further 83.86 million common stock Occidental warrants at an exercise price of $59.62.
Occidental shares are currently trading at $59.31 with a market capitalisation of $52.19 billion.
Sources told Reuters that no deal is confirmed.