Nippon Steel closes $14.1 billion acquisition of US Steel

Nippon Steel Corp. closed its $14.1 billion takeover of United States Steel Corp., bringing to an end an 18-month effort to combine the American and Japanese steelmakers, the companies said in a Wednesday statement.

The $55-a-share cash deal creates the world’s second largest steelmaker and turns the combined entity into a formidable competitor within the American steel industry. Nippon Steel also gets an important foothold in the US that helps avoid US President Donald Trump’s 50% steel tariffs. The New York Stock Exchange halted trading of US Steel shares earlier Wednesday, noting that the acquisition was effective.

Nippon Steel and US Steel reached a conditional deal with Trump’s administration on Friday that allowed the companies to close their deal first announced in December 2023, after the Japanese steelmaker agreed to invest an additional $11 billion in the Pittsburgh-based producer.

The steelmakers said they also struck a National Security Agreement with the US, in which US Steel will issue a so-called golden share to the government. The golden share gives consent rights to the US president concerning reductions in capital investments, changing US Steel’s name and headquarters, redomiciling outside the US, transferring jobs or production outside the US, acquisitions and decisions to close or idle existing facilities.