US Steel sold to Nippon

[Skippy722]

I remember reading some rumblings about being bought but the articles at the time made it seem like US Steel wasn’t that interested. Just saw today they agreed to be bought out by Nippon for ~$15 billion.

I wonder how the USW union is going to handle this.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/18/investing/us-steel-nippon-steel-deal/index.html

Article as follows in case the link gets broken or whatever: “US Steel has agreed to be bought by Nippon Steel, Japan’s largest steelmaker, in a $14.1 billion deal.

The deal marks the latest step in a gradual decline for the iconic 122-year old company, which was once the largest company on the planet. It was one of the first major conglomerates and a symbol of American industrial might.

But it is no longer even the largest US steelmaker, having been surpassed by Nucor Steel years ago.

Under terms of the deal, US Steel’s operations will retain its name and will continue to have a headquarters in Pittsburgh. But the deal could still stir opposition. Earlier this summer the United Steelworkers union vowed to only support a proposed offer by another unionized American steel company, Cleveland Cliffs, to buy US Steel. The US Steel board rejected that offer and started considering other bids. The union did not immediately respond to a request for comment early Monday.

US Steel’s statement said that Nippon Steel has a strong track record of safety in the workplace and working collaboratively with unions, that all union contracts will remain in place and that Nippon Steel is committed to maintaining these relationships uninterrupted.


US Steel was created through a merger when a group led by J.P. Morgan and Charles Schwab, two of the world’s leading financiers of the time, bought the steel company owned by Andrew Carnegie and combined it with their holdings in its rival Federal Steel company.

Monday’s all-cash offer represents a 40% premium on the closing price for US Steel shares from Friday. Shares of US Steel jumped 28% in premarket trading. Shares of Nippon were down 1% in trading in Japan, which closed before the deal was announced.”

 

[DuckRyder]

That noise was my great uncle Allen rolling over in his grave... He was a lifelong employee of US Steel. I remember we always had a family reunion at a park facility they owned...

Anyway.

 

[bullwinkle]

Would have been a good time to own some USS stock... Wonder if some of the world's leaders from the WW2 era are turning over in their graves?? (Although Japan is obviously a major ally of the USA now)

 

[Skippy722]

That noise was my great uncle Allen rolling over in his grave... He was a lifelong employee of US Steel. I remember we always had a family reunion at a park facility they owned...

Anyway.

My grandfather is rolling over as well…. Maybe if I go buy a Ford (the man hated ford for reasons he never told me) on top of this news he’ll come back just to tell me I’m an idiot before being lovingly assaulted by the 4 grandsons he didn’t get to meet lol

Edit: 5 grand sons, I keep forgetting I’m also an uncle now!

 

[Kira]

Let's see what that football team does with its logo.

edit:
SPORTS PREDICTION: It'll never be mentioned on the air during a game. Maybe sports-talk shows and then only a little.
Sportscasters will steer clear of commenting on big business' moves.

Remember when Imbev bought Budweiser? The sports mouths avoided the subject as if they were instructed to.

Q: Did anyone here who's close to my age grow up hearing their parents or neighbor's parents say, "The Japanese bought the Third Avenue el and threw it back at us in Pearl Harbor", as I did?
The el was the 3rd Ave. elevated subway line in Manhattan which was dismantled and sold for scrap.

When I was a kid we'd drive past the huge Mahwah (NJ) Ford assembly plant. By the 1980's the car maker was gone and a tower sporting the Mitsubishi logo defined the sky.

Many appreciate the world is a complex place with evolves in response to circumstances etc. Many don't. The available emotionalism re WWII is why this story will be low keyed.

 

[JavierH19]

At least it was sold to a good ally.

 

[JavierH19]

Would have been a good time to own some USS stock... Wonder if some of the world's leaders from the WW2 era are turning over in their graves?? (Although Japan is obviously a major ally of the USA now)

On the bright side that output may be allocated towards naval ship production since japan has been ramping that up against china since 2022.

 

[skyactiv]

Nippon Steel workers in Japan are probably union. No big obstacle.

 

[bullwinkle]

Let's see what that football team does with its logo.

Yes, they need to switch to white helmets with the "Rising Sun" on the sides!

 

[GON]

Another example of the results of year after year of trade deficits. When a country imports more than it exports, the other countries have "the gold". Pretty simple and very sad. It can be expected that transactions like this will continue, from U.S. Steel being sold to a Japanese organization, to Smithfield Farms sold to an arm of the Chinese Communist Party.

I can't recall a story in the past few decades where a USA corporation purchased a foreign corporation but can recall dozens of stories where foreign organizations purchased USA corporations. Very simple- years of trade deficits have transferred the USA wealth (and then assets) to foreign organizations.

 

[doitmyself]

Bittersweet, but better outcome than many other steel plants. U.S. Steel put me through college. I worked at the Gary Works Coke Ovens for one year after high school. That plant stretches about 8 miles along lake Michigan.
I became a door machine operator in short order, one of the higher paying positions:

 

[Inked]

Good example of the results of year after year of trade deficits. When a country imports more than it exports, the other countries have "the gold". Pretty simple and very sad. It can be expected that transactions like this will continue, from U.S. Steel being sold to a Japanese organization, to Smithfield Farms being sold to an arm of the Chinese Communist Party.

I can't recall a story in the past few decades where a USA corporation purchased a foreign corporation but can recall dozens of stories where foreign organizations purchased USA corporations. Very simple- years of trade deficits have transferred the USA wealth (and then assets) to foreign organizations.

^ That’s the true story behind the story.

 

[zzyzzx]

Does this mean that they can now slap the Nippon brand name on USS products and charge extra for it?

 

[SC Maintenance]

While I am sad also to see USS be no more, Nippon is Japanese at least. The Japanese are maybe our strongest ally, certainly our strongest in Asia at least. I don't see this one getting shot down by the regulators unless there is something fishy that comes up.

The Japanese have been building a footprint in this country for a very long time. The primary reason is the aging population in Japan means there are a huge lack of workers. The second reason is that the Japanese Yen is very low currently but expected to go lower due to all their money printing. Getting their money out of Japan is probably beneficial.

They probably have every intent to modernize and run these plants. Would I have rather seen an American company buy USS. Sure. But I would rather see Japanese than just about any other country.

The Japanese are about efficiency. If the Union workers show up and do their jobs, I doubt there will be any issues whatsoever. If anything the Japanese are much less likely to lay workers off than are american companies.

 

[Kira]

Does this mean that they can now slap the Nippon brand name on USS products and charge extra for it?

It likely means they can effectively do anything they want.

I just read, that after the sale is complete and half the office staffing is let go -a common step, the new ownership will offer rolls of stainless steel to the auto industry. The American consumer will have the option to select stainless steel vehicles. Oh happy day.

SOCIAL NOTE: Both the Japanese and US societies are aging. There's a "worker shortage" here too. 'Tis one reason so many "workers" are allowed in.

 

[Trav]

Nippon steel is good steel manufacturer. IMO it is better to be owned by the Japanese than one of the huge chicom firms. The USA and Europe have no one to blame but themselves on every level.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

Another example of the results of year after year of trade deficits. When a country imports more than it exports, the other countries have "the gold". Pretty simple and very sad. It can be expected that transactions like this will continue, from U.S. Steel being sold to a Japanese organization, to Smithfield Farms sold to an arm of the Chinese Communist Party.

I can't recall a story in the past few decades where a USA corporation purchased a foreign corporation but can recall dozens of stories where foreign organizations purchased USA corporations. Very simple- years of trade deficits have transferred the USA wealth (and then assets) to foreign organizations.

More like a foreign county has recognized the value of an American company is is willing to pay a premium to acquire said company.

BTW...with regards to deficits those USD get sent back to the US in the form of investment.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

Many appreciate the world is a complex place with evolves in response to circumstances etc. Many don't. The available emotionalism re WWII is why this story will be low keyed.

Indeed. Some act like they'd rather the US bombed the rest of the industrialized world back to the stone age so they can regain the Post WW2 glory of being a manufacturing powerhouse.

 

[SC Maintenance]

SOCIAL NOTE: Both the Japanese and US societies are aging. There's a "worker shortage" here too. 'Tis one reason so many "workers" are allowed in.

While that is true, the US has the best demographics of the developed countries. While our boomers still had a reasonable number of kids - the millennials, most other modern countries like Japan, Germany, South Korea, etc did not. Were the cleanest dirty shirt in the laundry if you will.

 

[Vitamin Yoda]

In the long run, this ain't gonna be good for US.