President Donald Trump on Friday said Japan’s Nippon Steel will invest heavily in U.S. Steel rather than purchase the company.
“They’ll be looking at an investment rather than a purchase,” Trump said at a news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. “They’ve agreed to invest heavily in U.S. Steel, as opposed to own it.”
U.S. Steel shares closed down nearly 6% at $36.98 after Trump’s comments. The president misspoke during his remarks, referring to Nissan when he meant Nippon would make an investment.
Ishiba also said Nippon would invest in U.S. Steel and not acquire the company. The prime minister said Japan would provide technology for U.S. Steel to manufacture better quality products in the U.S.
“It is not one sided. It will be reciprocal, it will be mutually beneficial,” Ishiba said through an interpreter.
Former President Joe Biden blocked Nippon’s $14.9 billion bid for U.S. Steel in early January, citing national security concerns. U.S. Steel and Nippon have asked a federal court to overturn Biden’s decision, alleging that he acted unconstitutionally.
Trump has also opposed the deal, though U.S. Steel has lobbied the president to reconsider his predecessor’s decision. U.S. Steel CEO David Burritt met with Trump at the White House on Thursday.
Nippon rival Cleveland-Cliffs has sought to make a move on U.S. Steel in the wake of Biden’s decision to block the deal. CEO Lourenco Goncalves said on Jan. 13 that he wants to buy the company.
“I have a plan, I have an all-American solution in place,” Goncalves said. “The all-American solution centers on people, on workers.”
People familiar with the matter told CNBC at that time that Cleveland-Cliffs was partnering with rival Nucor to make a bid for U.S. Steel. The offer would be in the high $30s a share, they said. Nippon had planned to buy U.S. Steel for $55 per share.
Cleveland-Cliffs was proposing to purchase U.S. Steel for all cash and to sell the Big River Steel subsidiary to Nucor, the people said at the time. U.S. Steel’s headquarters would remain in Pittsburgh under the deal.
It’s unclear how Trump’s comments Friday would impact potential future bids for U.S. Steel.