U.S. Steel announced that an arbitration board has ruled in favor of Nippon Steel’s $14.9 billion acquisition of the company. However, the United Steelworkers (USW) union disagreed with the ruling, stating that it does not change their opposition to the deal. The board, which was jointly selected by U.S. Steel and the USW, found that U.S. Steel met the conditions of the successorship clause in its labor agreement with the union.
Nippon Steel has expressed its commitment to fulfilling obligations that extend beyond the current labor agreement. The deal has faced political scrutiny, with both Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and Republican challenger Donald Trump advocating for U.S. Steel to remain American-owned.
Nippon Steel’s acquisition includes a premium price based on anticipated benefits from the U.S. infrastructure spending bill. U.S. Steel previously warned that failing to finalize the deal could jeopardize thousands of union jobs and lead to the closure of steel mills, potentially relocating its headquarters from Pennsylvania.
Nippon Steel plans to complete the acquisition by the end of December, pending regulatory approvals, and has resubmitted its application for approval to the U.S. national security panel, delaying the decision until after the upcoming presidential election on November 5.