Nippon Steel Corp. closed its $14.1 billion acquisition of United States Steel Corp., bringing an end to a bruising takeover battle that was embroiled in American politics for months until finally gaining support from U.S. President Donald Trump.
The transaction closes exactly 18 months after the two steelmakers first announced their surprising tie-up, a timeline veteran traders called one of the most unique they’ve ever witnessed. The controversial deal weathered two presidential administrations, union opposition, an expensive lobbying campaign and two U.S. security panel reviews.
"This has been an unprecedented situation that got completely politicized — the fact that the union was so vocal, but presidential candidates too? That’s never happened before,” said Wolfe Research analyst Timna Tanners, who has covered the industry for two decades. "Steel was the discussion at people’s kitchen tables, which probably hasn’t happened for a while, but in the end, it happened exactly how it should have.”
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