Market Segment

Nippon withdraws from JV with China's Baosteel

July 29, 2024

Japan’s Nippon Steel announced it is withdrawing from a joint venture (JV) with China’s Baoshan Iron & Steel (Baosteel) that serves the Chinese automotive industry.

Nippon and Baosteel established Baosteel-Nippon Steel Automotive Steel Sheets Co. Ltd. (BNA) in 2004. The JV manufactures and sells cold-rolled and hot-dip galvanized sheet in China.

“Today, Nippon Steel agreed with Baosteel to withdraw from the joint venture at the end of the current BNA management period by transferring all of its stake in BNA to Baosteel, subject to receipt of regulatory approvals and other closing conditions,” Nippon said in a statement on July 23.

That management period expires on Aug. 29, according to Nippon.

Nippon said in a statement to Reuters, also on July 23, that the decision was not connected to its attempted purchase of Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel. That deal, first announced in December and valued at over $14 billion, still faces government regulatory hurdles in the US.

Baosteel said it had agreed to pay about 1.8 billion yuan (~$247 million) for Nippon’s 50% stake in the JV, according to Reuters.

Recall that media reports have stated that Nippon recently hired Mike Pompeo, former Secretary of State under President Donald Trump, as an adviser on the U.S. Steel deal in the US.

A spokesperson for Nippon said the company had no additional comment beyond the release on its website.

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.