Nippon Steel to Buy U.S. Steel for Some 14 B. Dollars

Jiji Press

11:10 JST, December 19, 2023

Tokyo (Jiji Press)—Nippon Steel Corp. said Monday that it will buy United States Steel Corp. for about $14 billion to make the major U.S. steelmaker a wholly owned subsidiary in 2024.

It will be the Japanese company’s largest acquisition ever.

As steel demand in the United States, the largest market among developed countries, is expected to grow steadily, the two sides aim to utilize their technical capabilities to expand production of high-performance steel products.

“The transaction builds on our presence in the United States and we are committed to honoring all of U.S. Steel’s existing union contracts,” Nippon Steel President Eiji Hashimoto said in a statement.

U.S. Steel President and CEO David Burritt said in the same statement that the transaction “realizes the tremendous value today in our company.”

U.S. Steel is expected to become a subsidiary of Nippon Steel between April and September 2024 if its shareholders support the deal at a general meeting in March that year and relevant authorities approve it.

With the acquisition of U.S. Steel, which has an annual crude steel production capacity of about 20 million tons, the Nippon Steel group’s total production capacity is expected to reach 86 million tons.

Cheap energy prices in the United States have prompted manufacturers to return to the country, while government spending has stimulated steel demand.

U.S. Steel has strengths in advanced electric furnaces. Nippon Steel plans to integrate its and the U.S. company’s technologies to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.