US Steel: Nippon deal is a ‘partnership’

The US steelmaker US Steel says its deal with Nippon Steel a “partnership,” almost a year and a half of the Japanese steelmaker trying to acquire US Steel.

US Steel insisted that Nippon would make “investment commitments” through the partnership and transfer technology, though US Steel did not provide details in its 20 March first quarter earnings release.

Nippon has been after a $15bn acquisition of US Steel from late 2023, which came up against presidential election-year headwinds, including pledges by then-President Joe Biden and then-candidate Donald Trump to block the deal.

The former president, Biden did block the transaction near the end of his presidency, which Nippon and US Steel sued against.

Up to last week the lawsuits were still active, though on 14 March the US government filed for a delay of the lawsuit so it could work towards an agreement with the two companies.

US Steel said its new 3mn short tons (st)/yr Big River 2 flat-rolled steel mill in Arkansas continues to ramp up, and is expected to hit run-rate throughput in the second half of the year and its full capacity in 2026.