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Japan’s Nippon Steel has closed its nearly $15bn purchase of its American rival US Steel, ending more than a year of political wrangling that threatened to scuttle the agreement on multiple occasions.
US President Donald Trump approved the tie-up last week, months after his predecessor Joe Biden moved to block the deal. Nippon Steel clinched Trump’s approval after pledging to invest $11bn in the Pennsylvania-based company by 2028, billions of dollars more than it had initially promised. It also handed the government a golden share in US Steel, which will allow the White House to veto key corporate decisions.
“I am very pleased that the partnership between Nippon Steel and US Steel has been realised thanks to President Trump’s historic and visionary decision,” Eiji Hashimoto, Nippon Steel’s chair and chief executive, said in a statement.
US Steel’s base in the electoral swing state of Pennsylvania, and its historic role in American industry, caused the deal to become the subject of intense debate during the US presidential election last year. Biden, former vice-president Kamala Harris and Trump all opposed the deal while on the campaign trail, concerned that it would threaten thousands of union jobs.
As a result, Nippon Steel launched a grassroots political campaign to bring workers and local elected officials on side. The effort helped persuade Trump who reversed his decision, hosting a rally last month to celebrate the “blockbuster agreement” at US Steel’s Pittsburgh headquarters.
The Japanese steelmaker has committed to keeping US Steel’s headquarters in the industrial city. Nippon Steel also said that a majority of US Steel’s board of directors will be US citizens, and so will top executives like its chief executive.
“We share President Trump’s commitment to protect the future of the American steel industry, American workers and American national security, and we look forward to building a stronger and brighter future for US Steel,” said Nippon Steel’s vice chair Takahiro Mori.
In the final days before the transaction contractually needed to close, Nippon Steel agreed to a so-called “golden share” for the US government, handing the White House veto power over key business decisions in an unprecedented move. It does not give the government an economic interest in the group.
As part of the golden share, the government will have final say on a host of future business decisions for US Steel, including moving jobs outside of the US and closing plants.
