Nippon, US Steel offer increased investment to Trump officials to close deal

Nippon Steel and US Steel are in active talks about a deal that would preserve their $14 billion merger and secure billions more in investments from the Japanese steelmaker into Rust Belt facilities, Semafor reported on Thursday.

In recent meetings with White House officials, Nippon has offered to increase the $2.7 billion it had previously offered to upgrade US Steel factories to as much as $7 billion, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Nippon Steel declined to comment, while US Steel did not immediately respond to Reuters‘ requests for comment.

Nippon Steel president Tadashi Imai on Monday told reporters that the company, Japan’s biggest steelmaker, and US Steel will continue negotiations with the US government to reach an agreement on the terms of an equity purchase and future investment plans.

In February, US President Donald Trump, alongside Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, said that Nippon Steel’s $14.9 billion bid for US Steel would take the form of an investment instead of a purchase.

Trump also said in mid-February that he would not mind if Nippon Steel took a minority stake in US Steel.

Nippon Steel, the world’s fourth-biggest steelmaker, made a $14.9 billion bid for US Steel in December 2023, ultimately promising billions of dollars in investment to revamp its aging infrastructure and pledging to keep its headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

(By Nilutpal Timsina; Editing by Alan Barona)