Cliffs Looking at NLMK USA, Bloomberg reports
By
Dan Markham on
May 28, 2024
While U.S. Steel’s acquisition by Japan's Nippon Steel continues to be hashed out, another one-time suitor might be turning its attention elsewhere.
Cleveland-Cliffs, the nation’s other large integrated steel producer, is looking at acquiring the U.S. assets of NLMK, Bloomberg reports. The steelmaker is a subsidiary of Russia’s Novolipetsk Steel.
NLMK USA operates three main facilities, an electric arc furnace and continuous slab caster at Portage, Ind., a conversion mill in Farrell, Pa., and Sharon Coating in neighboring Sharon, Pa. It has a capacity of 2.7 million tons.
Meanwhile, Nippon’s acquisition of U.S. Steel seems even further away today than when it was announced at the end of 2023. The USW continues to fight the transaction. And, in this presidential election season, opposition to the deal has come from both sides of the aisle. Just last month President Biden vowed to block the deal.
Given the politics, it’s hard to imagine any consummation of the deal happening before the election, if at all.