Japan’s Nippon Steel said on Thursday it has extended the closing period for its US$15 billion (about RM67 billion) purchase of US Steel to the first quarter next year, reported Reuters on Dec 26.
In the backdrop of the steel plant acquisition is Japanese automakers Honda and Nissan’s proposed merger scheduled to be completed by Aug 2026.
On Monday, a US foreign investment committee referred the decision whether to approve or block the deal to US President Joe Biden, who has 15 days to decide.
Biden and his incoming successor, Donald Trump, have both expressed opposition to the purchase, but Nippon steel expressed confidence that the acquisition will protect and grow the American steel company.
The deal has also faced opposition from a powerful labour union, the United Steelworkers (USW). USW said in a statement that the Japanese steelmaker had no interest in the long-term security of US Steel plants or blast furnace operations and urged Biden to keep the company domestically owned and operated.
“Nippon Steel hopes that the President will use this time to conduct a fair and fact-based evaluation of the acquisition. We remain confident that the acquisition will protect and grow US Steel,” Nippon Steel said.
It added that the review process of the antitrust division of the U.S. Department of Justice was also underway, without specifying when it may end.
Earlier, in a separate report by Reuters dated Dec 25, Nippon Steel’s President Tadashi Imai told reporters that there was support for its proposal to acquire US Steel in the regions of the United States where steel mills are located.
“In the communities of the various regions where the steel mills are located, there is a considerable amount of support for this acquisition,” Imai said. “I hope that President Biden will understand…the value of this acquisition to the US economy.”
On Wednesday, Nippon Steel shared a letter to Biden dated Dec 23 and signed by two dozen US municipality officials from the areas where US Steel mills are located, asking the US president to approve the takeover deal.
In order to win support for the acquisition, Nippon Steel has previously said it will not use the deal as cover to import steel and has made a series of pledges to protect jobs and invest in US facilities it sees as key to its future growth.
According to a website dedicated to the acquisition deal, bestdealforamericansteel.com, the acquisition could potentially generate up to US$1 billion in economic impact, create 5,000 jobs and increase tax revenue for the state and municipal governments by US$40 million.
