US President Donald Trump said Friday that Japan’s Nippon Steel will drop its bid to acquire US Steel, and instead invest heavily in the company without taking a majority stake. The announcement came during a press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the White House.
According to Trump, Nippon Steel will “invest heavily” in US Steel, rather than purchasing it, citing concerns that the concept of ownership was not good for the country. The president emphasized that the deal would be beneficial and exciting for the US steel industry.
Details of the proposed investment were not revealed by Trump, but he assured that officials will meet with Nippon’s head next week to finalize the plan. People close to the deal are uncertain about whether Trump wants them to restructure the merger or start anew.
The decision reverses Trump’s previous disapproval of the merger, which was announced in December on Truth Social. Last month, Nippon Steel proposed giving the US government direct veto authority over any changes to US Steel’s production capacity as part of a mitigation agreement.
This development comes after two lawsuits filed by US Steel against former President Joe Biden and domestic rival Cleveland-Cliffs’ CEO Lourenco Goncalves were made public. The suits allege that Biden blocked the merger for political reasons and violated due process.
Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-considering-allowing-sale-of-u-s-steel-to-nippon-steel