U.S. Steel sold for nearly $15B to Japanese rival

U.S. Steel confirmed Monday that it will be acquired by Japan’s Nippon Steel in an all-cash deal valued at $14.1 billion. Nippon plans to pay $55 per share and assume U.S. Steel’s debt, bringing the deal’s total value to $14.9 billion. The company’s headquarters will also remain in Pittsburgh, where Andrew Carnegie, J.P. Morgan, and Charles Schwab originally founded U.S. Steel in 1901. U.S. Steel President and CEO David B. Burritt said the deal will support the United States by “ensuring a competitive, domestic steel industry while strengthening our presence globally.”

What do employees have to say? United Steelworkers International was disappointed in the buyout, union president David McCall said in a statement. He also asked government regulators to “carefully scrutinize this acquisition” to ensure national security and benefits to workers. Nippon Steel plans to honor all existing union contracts, President Eiji Hashimoto said.

Dig deeper: From the WORLD archives, read Evan Wilt’s report about the Trump administration’s import tariffs on steel.