An executive of Nippon Steel Corp. expressed confidence on November 7 that the company will complete the acquisition of US Steel Corp. will complete before Donald Trump, who has opposed the deal, assumes the presidency in January.
Vice President Takahiro Mori said at a news conference that a new application – which exceeds the US government’s review deadline, currently set at the end of December – would not be necessary.
The US government is assessing the takeover’s potential impact on national security.
Mori cited the steady progress of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) review as a key reason for Nippon Steel’s confidence in closing the deal by the end of the year.
President Joe Biden’s administration was reportedly prepared to block the proposed takeover between August and September, and CFIUS sent a letter to Nippon Steel raising “national security concerns.”
Nippon Steel subsequently reapplied to the committee for the assessment, leading to an extension of the assessment deadline set at the end of September.
Mori noted that now that the presidential election is over, “there are no reasons for Nippon Steel or CFIUS to further delay the review.”
Mori also suggested that Trump’s position, which once focused on “blocking the takeover,” has changed.
He said that during Trump’s late October campaign visit to Pennsylvania’s Mon Valley region, home to a U.S. steel mill, a senior official from a local union that Trump supports expressed support for Nippon Steel’s deal.
“Since then, Trump has not made any unfavorable comments about the acquisition,” Mori said.