TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s Nippon Steel said on Thursday it has extended the closing period for its $15 billion purchase of US Steel, expressing confidence the takeover will protect and grow the U.S. business.
The estimated closing date was revised to the first quarter of 2025, compared to the third or fourth quarter of 2024 previously.
On Monday, a US foreign investment committee referred the decision to approve or block the deal to US President Joe Biden, who has 15 days to decide.
Biden and his new successor, Donald Trump, have both expressed opposition to the purchase.
“Nippon Steel hopes that the President will use this time to conduct a fair and fact-based review of the acquisition. We remain confident that the acquisition will protect and grow US Steel,” Nippon Steel said Thursday.
It added that the review process of the US Department of Justice’s antitrust division was also ongoing, without specifying when this will end.
(Reporting by Rocky Swift and Katya Golubkova; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Muralikumar Anantharaman)
