Nippon Steel closes US Steel acquisition, grants ‘golden share’ to US government • FRANCE 24

Nippon Steel closes US Steel acquisition, grants ‘golden share’ to US government • FRANCE 24

business news now shan Pelgran is here up first he’s talking about nipp on steel finally sealing the deal on its purchase of US steel ship a lot of uh eels there in that i didn’t realize that opening sentence anyway say that very quickly the two companies said on Wednesday they’d finally completed a longunning process in which the Japanese steel maker acquired the US firm for 14.9 billion US it’s not been a smooth path and a lot of political opposition opposition had to be overcome with the US government given a measure of control over the company’s actions moving forward luke Shrego explains it’s taken a year and a half but Japan’s nippon steel has bought US steel in a 14.9 billion deal that’ll be keenly watched by both US politicians and unions the Japanese steel maker had to overcome entrenched opposition after reaching an initial agreement in December 2023 united Steel Workers was against and the Biden era White House blocked the deal in early January this year over concerns one of the nation’s largest steel makers would end up under foreign control however Nip on Steel saw an opportunity in Donald Trump’s coming to power and worked to sweeten the deal for the notoriously mistrustful US president providing the government a golden share something Trump crowed about last week and we have a golden stock we have a golden share which I control or president controls now I’m a little concerned whoever the president might be but that gives you total control it hands US authorities veto power over a huge number of corporate decisions such as shuttering plants cutting capacity or offshoring jobs as well as any future US acquisitions and even naming an independent director to the board nippon Steel also promised to maintain US Steel’s Pittsburgh headquarters and the firm’s name and is now likely hoping to take advantage of its new presence there circumventing the 50% steel tariffs foreign competitors still face us steel for its part will see 11 billion in investment through to 2028 including an initial billion dollar trunch for a new US mill well Nepon Steel’s CEO held a press conference in Tokyo this Thursday he confirmed that he’d agreed to give the unusual powers to the US government in the form of that golden share which gives it veto power on a number of strategic issues he said he saw no issue with those requirements notably because the company intended to expand investments beyond its current plans but for Gordon Johnson analyst and CEO of GLJ Research the gold share has no real weight whatsoever so this idea that the US government still has control I think it’s bogus um I think it’s you know the Trump administration trying to save face because not too long ago they said they were denying this on national security um uh concerns and now all of a sudden they’re allowing it to go through but again we always thought they would because you know they want to appease stockholders straight to the markets now Charl what’s happening so equities in Europe falling at the open this Thursday weighed down by the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran and the likelihood of US involvement and following the US Federal Reserve’s decision to keep their interest rates steady as they await more information on the potential impact of Donald Trump’s tariff policy on inflation the Bank of England also expected to hold its interest rates steady this Thursday investors will be paying close attention to anything that comes out of that uh press or later today the footsy in London opening one/ird of a percent lower now to some concerning data for the French economy uh the national statistics office in here uh released its forecast for growth in 2025 and it paints a stark picture of the country’s economic situation especially compared to its European neighbors the economy will grow by6% this year which will be less than the euro average of 1.3% french figures in red the Euro area figures in blue so this is a reversal from the trend we saw in the last two years where France appeared to show resilience compared to the rest of the block with 1.6% growth in 2023 and 1.1% growth in 2024 outpacing the Euro area and its outlook ins said the French economy doesn’t seem to be in tune with the rest of the continent its growth engines are now running out of steam this slowing down comes at a crucial time where the government is expected to stabilize public finances and a runaway deficit but has to contend with a fractured parliament uh French households meanwhile are keeping their money safe with savings rates at their highest levels for 45 years excluding the pandemic well now finally we’re going to end with what we could be one of the biggest sales in sports history this season this could be a Hollywood blockbuster of a deal and it concerns the Los Angeles Lakers the NBA franchise with such stars as LeBron James and Luca Donuch is reportedly being sold by its owners the Bus family who’ve had the team since 1979 and this could be the most expensive sale in US sports team history with TWWG Global CEO Mark Walter who’s already has a stake in the franchise taking the majority stake uh the Los Angeles Lakers valuation is estimated to be at least $10 billion so a sale would surpass the previous record by quite a margin in March the Boston Celtics were sold for $6.1 billion as a point of comparison with the world of football or soccer PSG this year’s Champions League winner is valued at just under $5 billion yeah big difference shelings from my

After 18 months of negotiations, Japan’s top steelmaker, Nippon Steel, completed its $14.9 billion acquisition of US Steel. On Thursday, CEO Eiji Hashimoto confirmed that the company granted the US government an unusual “golden share”, giving it more say in strategic issues. Also in this edition, the latest data showing France’s economy is lagging behind its European neighbours and potentially the biggest sale in US sports team history.
##NipponSteel ##USSteel ##Steel

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