Investing.com — Nippon Steel's proposed $14.9 billion US Steel acquisition has not received approval from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), according to a letter seen by sources. This comes despite Nippon Steel's continued efforts to alleviate national security concerns through meetings, calls with US officials and three revised proposals.
The letter, sent on Saturday, paves the way for US President Joe Biden, who has consistently opposed the deal, to block it. CFIUS, which assesses transactions for national security risks, has until Dec. 23 to greenlight the deal, extend the review period or suggest Biden reject it.
The letter indicates that if the agencies that make up the panel continue to disagree, they will refer the matter to Biden for action.
Nippon Steel's persistent attempts to win approval for the controversial merger since early September have included four face-to-face meetings with CFIUS, three telephone conversations, one of which took place on Friday with the secretaries of the Treasury departments and Trade, and three proposals for mitigation agreements. . All of these details are reflected in the letter dated Saturday sent to Nippon Steel by CFIUS, which had not been reported before.
The letter suggests the deal is possibly in jeopardy, despite the companies' best efforts to gain approval.
CFIUS concludes in the letter that it has not reached a consensus on whether the parties' proposed mitigation measures would be effective or address the risk to U.S. national security arising from the transaction. The letter further states that the President has the authority to suspend or prohibit a transaction that threatens to harm national security for as long as he deems appropriate.
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