International Steel Mills

EU OKs Nippon buy of USS, hurdles remain in US

May 6, 2024

The European Union has approved Tokyo-based Nippon Steel Corp.’s (NSC) proposed buy of U.S. Steel, a report in Reuters said on Monday.

The Pittsburgh-based steelmaker’s European operations consists of the U.S. Steel Kosice integrated mill in Slovakia. The mill has 8,000 employees and an annual production capacity of 4.5 million short tons of steel, according to the company’s website.

Regarding the deal, the European Commission “concluded that the notified transaction would not raise competition concerns,” according to an article in Barron’s.

In the US, hurdles for the deal remain. As previously reported, the US Department of Justice has requested additional information from both USS and NSC in its antitrust investigation.

Subsequently, U.S. Steel and Nippon said the deal, valued at nearly $15 billion, is expected to close in the second half of this year, which means the closing could slip into the fourth quarter.

There is also an ongoing review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).

Finally, Cleveland-Cliffs and the United Steelworkers union oppose the deal, as well as President Biden and former President Trump.

When contacted by SMU, an NSC spokesman said the company had no comment at this time.

Ethan Bernard

Ethan Bernard is managing editor for Steel Market Update. He previously worked for American Metal Market as a copy editor in the New York office for two years, starting in 2008. Later, he copy edited AMM’s monthly magazine on a freelance basis from 2015 until 2017. With experience in financial copywriting and textbook publishing, he holds a BA in Comparative Literature from UC Berkeley, and an MFA. in Creative Writing from New York University. He can be reached at ethan@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7871.