Japan’s steelmaking giant Nippon Steel has pushed back the closing date for its proposed acquisition of American steelmaker U.S. Steel. After previously expecting to close the deal by the end of 2024, the company now expects to complete the acquisition in the first part of 2025.
Whether the deal actually goes through now depends on U.S. President Joe Biden. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States was previously tasked with either approving or blocking the deal but opted to defer to Biden on Monday. The President now has 15 days to make the decision.
Nippon Steel agreed to acquire U.S. Steel in December 2023 for $55 per share, a 40% premium on the stock price at the time. The total value of the agreement was $15 billion.
However, the deal has since met with resistance from the U.S. government due to national security issues and concerns about the steel supply for American industry. The United Steelworkers (USW) labor union also voiced its displeasure about the deal.
Nippon Steel has since attempted to ease some of the concerns and recently even said that the deal has support in regions where U.S. Steel operates its steel mills. It also provided letters from town officials who were campaigning for approval of the deal.
“In the communities of the various regions where the steel mills are located, there is a considerable amount of support for this acquisition,” Nippon Steel’s President Tadashi Imai told reporters earlier this week.