Cleveland-Cliffs CEO Predicted Biden's Block $14.9B Nippon Steel-US Steel Deal Months Before Action

Kaustubh Bagalkote

January 05, 2025

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) CEO Lourenco Goncalves repeatedly predicted President Joe Biden would block Nippon Steel Corp.‘s (OTC:NPSCY) proposed $14.9 billion acquisition of United States Steel Corp. (NYSE:X) months before it happened, according to documents submitted to federal regulators.

In at least nine investor calls throughout 2024, Goncalves, whose company’s own $7 billion bid for U.S. Steel was rejected in August 2023, expressed confidence the deal would fail, reported Reuters on Sunday.

“I can’t force U.S. Steel to sell to me, but I can work my magic to make a deal that I don’t agree with not to close,” he told investors during a JP Morgan conference on Mar. 13, according to a letter from Nippon Steel’s lawyers to CFIUS.

The revelation comes after Biden blocked the Japanese steelmaker’s bid on Mar. 14, citing national security concerns. The White House stated Goncalves’ comments did not influence the decision. Cleveland-Cliffs and Goncalves declined to comment on the matter.

The deal faced mounting political pressure, with both Biden and President-elect Donald Trump opposing foreign ownership of U.S. Steel, particularly after the United Steelworkers union expressed concerns. U.S. Steel said it will continue fighting for the deal.

Price Action: United States Steel Corp. closed at $30.47 on Friday, down 6.53% for the day. In after-hours trading, the stock slightly recovered by 1.08%. Over the past year, U.S. Steel’s stock has fallen by 36.98%, according to data from Benzinga Pro. Nippon Steel Corp. is currently trading at 3,150 JPY, down 1.01% at the time of writing this article.

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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