US President Joe Biden decided to block the deal to take over the steel company US Steel Japanese competitor Nippon Steel. TASR informs about it on the basis of a report by the Reuters agency, which on Friday referred to a source familiar with the matter.
The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, did not specify the reason for this decision in more detail, but already earlier drew attention to the political consequences of the agreementReuters reported.
A White House spokesman and a spokesman for Nippon Steel declined to comment on the reports. US Steel referred to its statement on Thursday (2/1) in which it expressed hope that “Biden will do the right thing and follow the law by approving a transaction that so clearly strengthens US national and economic security.”
American steel company US Steel, under which the company belongs in Slovakia US Steel Košiceshould, as part of the acquisition announced last December, to take over the Japanese concern Nippon Steel for almost 15 billion dollars (14.53 billion euros).. The parties involved said at the time the agreement was announced that they expect the transaction to be completed in the second or third quarter of 2024.
The news about Biden’s decision was originally reported on Thursday by The Washington Post (WP), citing sources from the outgoing US administration. According to the diary the White House plans to officially announce this move on January 3.
WP reported on January 1 that Nippon Steel had submitted a modified offer to the Biden administration to buy US Steel that would effectively allow US authorities to block any attempts to reduce production capacity in the US. At the same time, the sources of the newspaper noted at the time that the outgoing administration is considering the possibility of moving the decision on this issue to the team of the newly elected US President Donald Trumpwhose inauguration will take place on January 20.
At the end of December, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which investigated the proposed takeover of the steel mills, he referred his decision to approve or block the deal to Biden. Biden, whose term ends on January 20, has until January 7 to decide on the deal. If he took no action, the result would be automatic approval of the merger.
