President Joe Biden said Friday that he has decided to block a $15 billion takeover of U.S. Steel by the Japanese company Nippon Steel, capping off a yearlong business saga that drifted into election-year politics.
The decision comes after a national security review by a Treasury Department committee failed to reach a consensus on the deal and referred the final decision to the president in December. NBC News had reported in September that Biden was preparing to block the takeover.
The president, who leaves office in little more than two weeks, faced a challenging political calculus over the fate of the iconic Pittsburgh-based firm: Allowing a foreign entity with far greater resources to take it over could put the business on stabler financial footing. But keeping U.S. Steel in American hands risked the company’s survival under intense foreign competition.
www.nbcnews.com
The decision comes after a national security review by a Treasury Department committee failed to reach a consensus on the deal and referred the final decision to the president in December. NBC News had reported in September that Biden was preparing to block the takeover.
The president, who leaves office in little more than two weeks, faced a challenging political calculus over the fate of the iconic Pittsburgh-based firm: Allowing a foreign entity with far greater resources to take it over could put the business on stabler financial footing. But keeping U.S. Steel in American hands risked the company’s survival under intense foreign competition.
Biden blocks Japan's Nippon Steel from acquiring U.S. Steel
The iconic American company had sought to sell itself amid intense global competition.
www.nbcnews.com
