Subject: Re: More OXY
I imagine the "end game" plan is either for Berkshire to own all of Occidental or Berkshire to "bless" a tax-free (tax deferred) merger of Occidental into Chevron where Berkshire becomes Chevron's largest shareholder but in a much more liquid security than being OXY's largest shareholder. There is no good exit where Berkshire starts selling OXY shares on the open market, filing a Form 4 every 3 days showing their sales.
I would rather see Berkshire bid for all of OXY when the time is right, selling the CVX shares to fund the deal like he did with the railroads, and have OXY's cash flow added to Berkshire. Let them slowly work on paying off the preferred and reduce their common share count for a few years here, while Buffett locks in part of his eventual acquisition at non-control-premium prices. It's the average cost that matters, and Berkshire can offer a much better looking/competitive headline buyout offer when they have already locked in half the price at a low multiple.