Ok article. Frankly - I could see Berkshire swapping out the Preferred for possibly Oxy's chemical business, or something similar to what they did with P&G and Duracell ... think about it - OXY would reduce its interest costs by ~$800M per year, and Buffett would get a trophy asset...with that said - this part caught my attention:
People familiar with deliberations at Occidental said the company’s leadership believes Mr. Buffett might consider making an offer if oil prices fall, bringing down Occidental’s stock price. If Mr. Buffett made an offer the company viewed as fair, a majority of the Occidental’s board would likely approve presenting it to shareholders, one of the people said.
This is turning into a really nice investment for Berkshire