US Steel Stock Jumps on Report Nippon Steel Planning Up to $7B Investment to Save Merger

U.S. Steel (X) shares are jumping around 6% in premarket trading Friday on a report that Nippon Steel is offering to spend as much as $7 billion to upgrade the American company’s aging Rust Belt facilities in a bid to obtain the Trump administration’s approval of their $14 billion merger.

The Biden administration had blocked the sale of U.S. Steel to Japan’s Nippon Steel on national security grounds in January. The two companies have since taken legal action over the blocked deal.

Citing people familiar with the matter, Semafor reported that Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel are in negotiations with the Trump administration and had offered to increase the $2.7 billion the Japanese firm had previously offered to update the Pittsburgh-based company’s factories. Under the new deal being discussed, Nippon Steel would stick with its $55 per share offer for U.S. Steel and “would make sizable capital investments as soon as possible,” the report said.

U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Trump had initially been against the sale of U.S. Steel but said at a February press conference that he supported Nippon Steel investing in the U.S. company rather than buying it, according to The Wall Street Journal.