Japan’s Nippon Steel said on Thursday it has extended the closing date for its $14.9 billion purchase of the U.S. Steel as President Joe Biden weighs whether to block a deal that has faced intense opposition since it was announced.
According to Reuters, the closing date was revised to the first quarter of 2025 from the third or fourth quarter of 2024 previously.
Nippon paid a hefty premium to clinch the deal last December in an auction, but the deal faced opposition from the powerful United Steelworkers union (USW), as well as politicians.
Biden has said he wants U.S. Steel to be domestically owned and operated, while President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to block the deal after he takes office in January.
On Monday, the committee that vets foreign deals in the U.S. for security concerns referred the decision whether to approve or block the deal to Biden. He has 15 days to decide, and if he takes no action, the merger will get an unexpected green light.
“Nippon Steel hopes that the President will use this time to conduct a fair and fact-based evaluation of the acquisition. We remain confident that the acquisition will protect and grow U.S. Steel,” the company said on Thursday.
