US Steel shareholders approve Nippon Steel’s US$14.1b takeover bid

The news: Shareholders of United States Steel have approved Nippon Steel’s USD14.1 billion takeover offer, during a highly anticipated vote held on Friday.

The numbers: US Steel investors are set to receive USD55 in cash per share in the proposed offer, which is more than double the company’s stock price in August 2023 when the company confirmed it was considering offers on acquisition. US Steel’s press release on the vote states that over 98% of the stockholders “overwhelmingly voted to approve the proposed merger.”

The context: While the shareholder vote was widely expected to pass, the political and regulatory path for the merger remains unknown. Antitrust regulators are set to scrutinise the proposed deal, with the Department of Justice already having kicked off its own competition investigation. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the US has also launched a national security review into the merger.

During a press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida last week, President Joe Biden emphasised his support for US workers opposed to Nippon Steel’s bid to acquire US Steel Corp, but did not explicitly call for continued domestic ownership. The proposed sale has drawn significant pushback from politicians and steelworkers, particularly the United Steelworkers union, who believe the iconic US company should not be sold to an international entity.