TOKYO (Reuters) – Nippon Steel said on Thursday (26) it has extended the closing deadline for its $14.9 billion acquisition of US Steel as United States President Joe Biden weighs whether to block the deal. agreement, which has faced intense opposition since it was announced.
The closing date has been postponed to the first quarter of 2025, from the third or fourth quarter of 2024.
Nippon paid a high premium to seal the deal last December at an auction, but the deal faced opposition from the powerful United Steelworkers (USW) union as well as politicians.
Biden has said he wants US Steel to be domestically owned and operated, while President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to block the deal after he takes office in January.
On Monday (23) the committee that examines foreign agreements in the US for security reasons forwarded the decision to approve or block the agreement to Biden. He has 15 days to decide and, if he takes no action, the merger will receive an unexpected green light.
“Nippon Steel hopes that the president will use this time to conduct a fair and fact-based assessment of the acquisition. We remain confident that the acquisition will protect and grow US Steel,” the Japanese company said on Thursday.
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US Steel shares never reached the offering price of 55 per share, signaling investor concerns about the timeline for closing the deal.
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba asked Biden to approve the merger to avoid undermining recent efforts to strengthen ties between the countries, Reuters reported in November.
Nippon added on Thursday that the review process by the US Department of Justice’s antitrust division was also ongoing, without specifying when it might end.
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Despite opposition, US Steel shareholders voted overwhelmingly in April to approve the acquisition.
The two companies also worked to assuage concerns about the combination. Nippon has offered to move its US headquarters to Pittsburgh, where the US steelmaker is headquartered, and has promised to honor all agreements in place between US Steel and the USW.
