TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s Nippon Steel said on Thursday it has extended the closing period on its $15 billion purchase of US Steel, expressing confidence that the takeover will protect and grow the U.S. company.
The estimated closing date has been revised to Q1 2025 from Q3 or Q4 2024 previously.
On Monday, the US Foreign Investment Committee referred the decision to approve or block the deal to US President Joe Biden, who has 15 days to make the decision.
Biden and his incoming successor, Donald Trump, have expressed their opposition to the purchase.
“Nippon Steel hopes that the President will use this time to make a fair and fact-based evaluation of the acquisition. We remain confident that the acquisition will protect and grow US Steel,” Nippon Steel said on Thursday.
She added that the review process of the US Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division is also underway, without specifying when it might end.
(Reporting by Rocky Swift and Katya Golubkova; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Muralikumar Anantharaman)
