By By Ben Klayman
DETROIT (Reuters) -U.S. Steel CEO David Burritt said on Tuesday he was confident Nippon Steel’s $14.9 billion bid for his company would “close on its merits,” despite political opposition and concerns raised in a national security review.
Burritt, speaking at the Detroit Economic Club, described the review process as “very robust” but added, “we trust the process, we respect the process.”
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
CFIUS, which has been reviewing the deal, appeared poised to block it on Aug. 31, when it sent the companies a 17-page letter exclusively reported by Reuters. The letter alleged that the transaction posed a risk to national security by threatening the steel supply chain for critical U.S. industries.
The companies countered in a 100-page letter, also exclusively reported by Reuters, that the deal would enhance U.S. national security by allowing a company from an allied nation to make a much-needed investment in a struggling U.S. firm in a critical sector.
Nippon Steel’s planned acquisition of the U.S. steelmaker also faces opposition from powerful Democrats and Republicans. U.S. Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris has said she wants U.S. Steel to remain “American-owned and operated,” while her Republican rival Donald Trump has pledged to block the deal if elected.
U.S. Steel is headquartered in Pennsylvania, a crucial swing state hotly contested by both candidates in the Nov. 5 election.
The expected demise of the deal prompted an outpouring of support, including a letter from business groups including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, raising concerns the transaction was being influenced by political pressure. Such reaction may have helped the companies, with the Washington Post reporting on Friday that a decision on the deal could be postponed until after the election.
But for the decision to be delayed, the companies would need CFIUS to extend a Sept. 23 deadline on the review process, as first reported by Reuters.
CEO Burritt, when asked on Tuesday whether the companies had received a response from CFIUS on the requested extension, declined to comment.