Nippon Steel postpones US Steel acquisition closing

Nippon Steel said Friday it was postponing the expected closing date for its $14.9 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel, after the Department of Justice (DOJ) requested additional information and documents related to the deal.

Nippon pushed the closure date back by approximately three months, saying it revised the estimated timeline for the deal’s closing from the second or third quarter of 2024 to the third or fourth quarter.

The Japanese steelmaker revised the timeline after receiving the second request “and following careful deliberation with respect to the regulatory processes,” it said.

The delay comes three weeks after U.S. Steel shareholders approved the acquisition, despite opposition from the Biden administration, steelworkers and congressional lawmakers.

Nippon announced the delay two weeks after President Biden “promise[d]” American steelworkers that U.S. Steel would remain American owned and operated, despite the previous week’s shareholder vote.

“U.S. Steel has been an iconic American company for more than a century. And it should remain a totally American company — American owned, American operated, by American union steelworkers — the best in the world. And that’s going to happen. I promise you,” Biden said in remarks at United Steelworkers headquarters in Pittsburgh.

The deal was announced in December.

Biden and lawmakers have specifically voiced concerns arguing the deal could threaten American steelworkers.

Biden came out in staunch opposition to the proposed deal in mid-March, when he said the U.S. needs to “maintain strong American steel companies powered by American steel workers.”

Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) said he agreed with Biden, and that he had “long held concerns that this sale could be a bad deal for our workers,” in a statement released following Biden’s remarks.

“I share President Biden’s commitment to maintaining an American steel industry,” the statement continued.

Despite administration and lawmaker concerns, U.S. Steel maintained that the “transaction truly represents the best path forward for all of U.S. Steel’s stakeholders” and that it will make “U.S. Steel and the domestic steel industry stronger and more competitive,” in a statement announcing the shareholder vote results last month.

This story was updated at 3:05 p.m.