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Nippon Steel (OTCPK:NPSCY) (OTCPK:NISTF) reiterated Thursday its plan to close the purchase of US Steel (NYSE:X) by year-end, and said it anticipates “calmer discussions” with unions after the U.S. presidential election in November, The Financial Times reports.
The Japanese steelmaker said in its FY 2023 earnings summary that the merger would not cause job cuts or plant closures and that it would move its own U.S. headquarters to Pittsburgh from Houston, but that there are no plans to make additional concessions to steelworkers’ unions.
“It is hard to imagine [the deal] becoming more politicized, and since it will not be political beyond the presidential election, I think there is a possibility of a calmer discussion once the political leverage of the [United Steelworkers union] is gone. So my determination to close [the deal] as soon as possible has not changed,” Nippon Steel (OTCPK:NPSCY) (OTCPK:NISTF) chair Takahiro Mori said, according to FT.
Mori also dismissed the likelihood of another bidder because the deal was approved by US Steel (X) shareholders in April, saying “it is basically impossible for others to buy it.”
The comments came as Nippon Steel (OTCPK:NPSCY) (OTCPK:NISTF) reported net profit for the full year ended March 2024 fell 20.8% Y/Y to ¥549.4B, a less severe decline than analysts expected, but the company said steel demand fell to “an unprecedented dire level” in the year’s H2, as China’s slow economy and deteriorating economic sentiment in the U.S. and Europe hurt demand.
