(Reuters) – US President Joe Biden intends to block the proposed takeover of the American steel group US Steel by its Japanese competitor Nippon Steel for reasons of national security as soon as he receives the opinion of the committee responsible for evaluating the risks, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.
This buyout, for an amount of 15 billion dollars (14.2 billion euros), is currently being examined by the Committee for Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). This, according to Bloomberg, must transmit to Joe Biden his opinion on the merger project by December 22 or 23.
The White House declined to comment, saying the CFIUS review process was continuing.
The committee said in September that the merger would pose a national security risk because it could harm the production of critical steel for transportation, construction and agriculture.
US Steel and Nippon Steel should seek compensation in the event that the president blocks their proposed merger, unveiled a year ago, Bloomberg added.
Joe Biden has repeatedly announced that he wants to block this acquisition and his successor, Donald Trump, has also opposed this takeover of a 122-year-old company emblematic of the American steel industry.
Nippon Steel said it was unacceptable that politics continued to trump true national security interests, saying it had “confidence in the justice and fairness of America and its justice system.”
The company also said it would work with US Steel to evaluate its options and take all steps to reach a fair conclusion if necessary.
(Jasper Ward and David Shepardson; Jean-Stéphane Brosse and Camille Raynaud for the )
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