Nippon Steel's Harvard-educated president explains his $14 billion deal for U.S. Steel: It's all about China and leading the 'free-competition world'

[Leroy N. Soetoro]

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/nippon-steel-harvard-educated-president-
090716454.html

Nippon Steel president Eiji Hashimoto is casting his decision to buy U.S.
Steel for over $14 billion in geopolitical terms. The deal is set to
transform the metals industry, creating a new steelmaking giant. This new
company would dominate the sector “excluding China, in the free-
competition world,” the Harvard-educated Hashimoto said, according to the
Wall Street Journal.

China currently dominates the steel industry. Six of the world’s top 10
steel producers are from China, with the state-owned Baowu Group leading
the pack, according to data from the World Steel Association. Nippon
Steel, currently ranked fourth, would rise to third place after acquiring
U.S. Steel. (ArcelorMittal, formed in 2006 from the merger of European
company Arcelor and Indian steelmaker Mittal Steel, is the world’s second
largest producer.)

Nippon Steel is paying a hefty premium for U.S. Steel. The Japanese
company is offering to pay $55 a share, significantly above U.S. Steel’s
price of $39.55 at Friday’s market close. (Shares have jumped 22% since
then, following Nippon Steel’s announcement.)

Despite that, Hashimoto has defended the price tag, saying the deal has
“sufficient economic rationality” on Tuesday. “We want to complete a
global network for a new era in the industry,” he said.

Several other companies had considered buying U.S. Steel as well.
Cleveland-Cliffs, another U.S.-based steelmaker, offered to buy U.S. Steel
at $35 a share earlier this year. (U.S. Steel rebuffed the offer.)
ArcelorMittal and Canada’s Stelco were also considering offers for U.S.
Steel.

U.S. lawmakers, however, don’t think Hashimoto’s decision to buy U.S.
Steel is good for American security. U.S. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.)
complained that it was “outrageous that [U.S. Steel] sold themselves to a
foreign nation and … company” in a post on X, formerly Twitter. Fellow
Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) also opposes the deal, alleging that “a critical
piece of America’s defense industry was auctioned off to foreigners for
cash.” Fetterman, Vance, and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), who also opposes
the deal, all represent battleground states in next year’s U.S. elections.

The United Steelworkers union is also against the deal. The union’s
president, David McCall, said in a statement that neither U.S. Steel nor
Nippon Steel contacted the union about the deal, which violates an
agreement requiring U.S. Steel to notify the union of any changes in
control. That adds more political complexity to the deal, as President Joe
Biden seeks to shore up support from the U.S. labor movement ahead of the
election.

The deal still needs to be approved by the Committee on Foreign Investment
in the United States (CFIUS).

Hashimoto’s tenure at Nippon Steel shows an executive with a tough
negotiating style. He spent over four decades at Nippon Steel before
becoming president in April 2019. At the time, the company faced increased
competition from Chinese steelmakers and low sales margins. Hashimoto
successfully leaned on customers to pay higher prices, and even tried
suing Toyota Motor in 2021 for patent infringement. Nippon Steel dropped
its suit in November.

In 2019, the year Hashimoto became president, Nippon Steel lost $3.9
billion. Last year, the company generated $5.1 billion in profit.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

Lee
8 hours ago

You can thank the government and the Unions for driving US Steel and many
others out of business leaving them vulnerable to foreign takeovers. Yes!
The politicians tried their best to shut down steel plants in the 70's and
80's because they didn't smell nice. The Union workers took their pensions
and left no opportunity for the next generation.

The same people decimated the automobile industry. Most of the people
reading this post are driving a European, Japanese or Korean car.

Democrats and Unions do nothing for the worth of the U.S. They are nothing
more than clowns now with who knows what as their heros.

BourbonChicken
5 hours ago

Democrats killed the steel industry in America with their over the top
environmental laws.


--
We live in a time where intelligent people are being silenced so that
stupid people won't be offended.

Durham Report: The FBI has an integrity problem. It has none.

No collusion - Special Counsel Robert Swan Mueller III, March 2019.
Officially made Nancy Pelosi a two-time impeachment loser.

Thank you for cleaning up the disaster of the 2008-2017 Obama / Biden
fiasco, President Trump.

Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the
The World According To Garp. Obama sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood
queer liberal democrat donors.

President Trump boosted the economy, reduced illegal invasions, appointed
dozens of judges and three SCOTUS justices.