Tokyo, 26 February, /AJMEDIA/
Nippon Steel Corp President Tadashi Imai said Tuesday that “nothing has been decided” regarding a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump to expedite the company’s plan to acquire United States Steel Corp.
Imai’s comment came after Trump, following his Feb 7 talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, expressed willingness to meet with Nippon Steel’s top management to mediate the deal, which had been blocked by his predecessor, Joe Biden.
While Trump has said Nippon Steel will not have a majority stake in U.S. Steel, Imai reiterated his company’s intention to take over the iconic but struggling American counterpart.
Imai told reporters in Tokyo that Nippon Steel is “just about to enter” negotiations with the Trump administration over the $14.1 billion buyout plan, noting that Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick will handle the issue.
After his summit with Ishiba in Washington, where the deal was discussed, Trump said Nippon Steel will “invest heavily” in U.S. Steel rather than seek full ownership.
However, Imai praised Ishiba for taking up the issue during the talks with Trump, saying that “significant progress” had been made.