US Steel slumps after Biden blocks takeover attempt by Japan’s Nippon
Nippon Steel’s acquisition of US Steel has been blocked by US President Joe Biden.
In his decision, Biden said that US Steel will remain “American-owned, American-operated, by American union steelworkers.”
Shares of the Pittsburgh-based company fell as much as 9.5% in premarket trading. Investors had already been assigning low odds to Japan’s Nippon being able to complete this transaction, as US Steel was trading far below the agreed-upon price of $55 per share that had been announced over a year ago.
Blocking this deal had bipartisan support from the Democratic and Republican leaders, as President-elect Donald Trump had also pledged to block this transaction and wrote on Truth Social that he would use tax incentives and tariffs to make US Steel great again.
As reported by Reuters, a letter from Nippon’s lawyers suggested that both companies would file an appeal if this decision were to be made.