Occidental grows Buffett’s stake by paying dividend in shares to preserve cash – The National

Occidental grows Buffett’s stake by paying dividend in shares to preserve cash – The National

Occidental grows Buffett's stake by paying dividend in shares to preserve cash. Occidental Petroleum is paying a special dividend to Warren Buffett in shares rather than cash, diluting investors including activist billionaire Carl Icahn as the indebted shale explorer grapples with oil's collapse.. Occidental had been paying cash since Buffett invested $10 billion last year to help fund the company's $37bn takeover of Anadarko Petroleum, demanding an 8 per cent annual dividend.. But as the Covid-19 pandemic destroys demand for crude and strips producers of cash, her most immediate challenge is to tackle the debt pile Occidental accrued last year to beat Chevron in the bidding war for Anadarko.. Occidental's share registration doesn't mean Mr Buffett's company, Berkshire Hathaway, and its affiliates will necessarily sell any stock, according to the filing on Wednesday.. It's unclear whether Berkshire will eventually sell down its common stock stake in the oil producer - it has already chipped away at that holding in recent months - or might buy more shares.. The Occidental bet was one of Mr Buffett's largest deals in recent years and mimicked some of the famous financial crisis-era moves that allowed him to get preferred stock in companies including Goldman