US Steel, taken over by Nippon Steel for $14.1 billion

Nippon Steel Corp. of Japan will pay $14.1 billion in cash to acquire United States Steel Corp. (US Steel), in a transaction that ends months of uncertainty regarding the future of the famous American metal producer, Reuters and Bloomberg announce.

The century-old giant US Steel became a takeover target in August after rejecting a $7.25 billion bid from rival Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.

Nippon will pay $55 per share in cash, up about 40% from Friday's US Steel share price and up 142% from the last trading session before the strategic review process was announced on August 11.

In mid-August, US Steel announced that it was launching an official review process after rejecting a $7.3 billion takeover offer from rival Cleveland-Cliffs Inc., notes Agerpres. While Cliffs continued to participate in the sale process, giant ArcelorMittal SA also considered making a bid, Reuters reported in August.

Nippon Steel, the world's fourth-largest steelmaker, has been trying to expand overseas to counter weak demand in Japan and the effects of a weaker yen, and the deal will allow it to gain a foothold in the US market, particularly in the lucrative auto industry, where US Steel is a key supplier.

The transaction will create a giant in the steel industry, with plants from Slovakia to Japan and the US. US Steel will keep its name and headquarters, the companies announced yesterday.

In October, Mark Gitenstein, the US ambassador to the European Union, reported that the United States would extend the suspension of additional tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from the EU if the two sides needed more time to agree on measures to it aims at overcapacity and production with low carbon dioxide emissions.

From January 2022, the United States suspended for two years additional tariffs of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminum from the European Union, replacing the tariffs imposed by former President Donald Trump with a system of tariff quotas (TRQ). It allows the US to import up to 3.3 million metric tons of steel and 384,000 tons of aluminum from the EU duty-free.