Japanese steel group Nippon Steel said on Friday that its proposed acquisition of American steelmaker US Steel, which President Joe Biden is opposed, was the subject of a review by American competition authorities.
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The proposed $14 billion acquisition of US Steel “is subject to certain regulatory approvals, such as those regarding merger control and foreign investment in the affected countries,” Nippon Steel said in a brief statement sent to AFP.
While “the process of reviewing merger control in the United States” continues, Nippon Steel declined to comment on the details of this procedure.
Nippon Steel thus responded to a request for information made by AFP after the publication on Wednesday of an article in the media Politico, according to which the American Department of Justice had opened an “in-depth antitrust investigation”.
This acquisition project has become a political issue in the United States in the run-up to the presidential election. President Joe Biden, running for re-election in November, publicly opposed the plan.
During Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s state visit to Washington on Wednesday, the two officials were questioned by the press on this sensitive subject. Mr. Biden then simply renewed his support for American “workers,” while Mr. Kishida said he hoped for a “positive” outcome for both parties on this issue.
The US Steel group is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (north-eastern United States), a state which could be decisive in the next American presidential election.
