The potential sale of one of America's largest domestic steel producers, U.S. Steel, has raised eyebrows among lawmakers in key battleground states and even garnered the attention of the White House.
In December, Nippon Steel, the largest steel producer in Japan and fourth largest globally, announced plans to acquire U.S. Steel for $55 per share for a total of roughly $14 billion.
In August, Cleveland-Cliffs, a steel producer based in Ohio, made a $35 per share offer for U.S. Steel but eventually upped the amount to nearly match the Nippon offer at $54 per share.
In August, Axios reported that United Steelworkers has a contractual right to bid on U.S. Steel or particular assets once they have been put up for sale.
In a press release U.S. Steel notes that Nippon Steel has agreed to honor the collective bargaining agreements with its unionized workers.
Third-party presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wrote an opinion piece in Newsweek on the matter, saying, "I am opposed to the sale for a number of reasons," before blaming U.S. Steel management for prioritizing profits at the expense of the workers.
Specifically, U.S. Steel determined that its odds of withstanding regulatory approval for national security concerns from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. were better than surviving an antitrust review from the Department of Justice.
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