The United States Steel Corp. Edgar Thomson steel mill in Braddock.
Photographer: Justin Merriman/BloombergHow the US Steel Takeover Became About Biden and Swing States
Nippon Steel’s $14 billion bid to take over an American industrial icon faces political challenges from “every direction.”
Takahiro Mori traveled more than 12 hours from Tokyo to Pittsburgh to secure what he hoped would be one of the biggest-ever steel mergers. On the other side of the table from the Nippon Steel Corp. executive sat the one man who now appeared to have the fate of the $14 billion deal in his hands: David McCall, head of the United Steelworkers union.
The Japanese bid to take over United States Steel Corp. had widely been viewed as a slam-dunk offer — the only sticking point was winning over the union and, in turn, its political leverage. Mori assured McCall that Nippon Steel would offer commitments to invest more than $1 billion in the iconic American company while also promising no idling of plants and, most importantly to its workers, no immediate layoffs.