U.S. Steel/Nippon Steel submitting documents to Department of Justice

United States Steel Corp. and Nippon Steel Corp. are submitting additional information and documentary materials to the U.S. Department of Justice regarding the proposed merger of U.S. Steel with Nippon Steel, U.S. Steel officials said.

“The Company and Nippon Steel Corporation each received, and are working to respond to, a request for additional information and documentary materials (commonly referred to as a ‘second request’) from the U.S. Department of Justice in connection with antitrust review of the merger under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended (the “HSR Act’),” U.S. Steel said in its first quarter earnings release.

In December, U.S. Steel announced a $14.9 billion deal under which all of the company would merge with the Japanese steelmaker.

U.S. Steel says it continues to progress toward closing the transaction.

U.S. Steel said it currently expects the merger to be completed in the second half of 2024, subject to the fulfillment of the remaining, customary closing conditions, including the expiration or termination of the waiting period under the HSR Act and receipt of other required regulatory approvals.

The proposed merger has drawn praise from some lawmakers and steel industry analysts and criticism from others.

The United Steelworkers is opposing the deal.

The merger is also being reviewed by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.

U.S. Steel reported first quarter 2024 net earnings of $171 million and adjusted net earnings of $206 million.

That compares to 2023 first quarter net earnings of $199 million and $195 million adjusted net earnings.

First quarter adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) was $414 million.

“We delivered a solid first quarter while maintaining an unwavering focus on safety as we progress towards the close of our pending transaction with Nippon Steel Corporation,” David Burritt, U.S. Steel president and chief executive officer said in the company’s first quarter earnings release. “We expect a even stronger second quarter, with adjusted EBITDA in the range of $425 million to $475 million, as typical first quarter seasonal mining headwinds abate. This should drive sequentially stronger EBITDA for our Flat-Rolled segment, while our Mini Mill segment is expected to be negatively impacted by lower average selling prices. Our U.S. Steel Europe segment results are expected to remain challenged, reflecting mounting commercial headwinds. As a result, we extended a planned outage on blast furnace #2 to balance our production with demand. We expect results in our Tubular segment to moderate as selling prices decline.”

A start-up of Big River 2, a steelmaking expansion at U.S. Steel’s Big River mini mill in Arkansas, is on track for the second half of the year, Burritt said.