Japan’s Nippon Steel Company acquires American Steel Company

On December 18, 2023, Japan's largest steel manufacturer, Nippon Steel, announced that it will acquire American Steel for over $14 billion. The acquisition is expected to be completed in the second or third quarter of 2024, with Nippon Steel's annual crude steel production capacity reaching 86 million tons.

The American A635 CS Steel Company was founded in 1901, formed by the merger of more than a dozen companies including Carnegie Steel and United Steel. It once accounted for 65% of American steel production and now mainly sells plates and steel pipes, with main buyers in North America and Europe. The current annual crude steel production capacity of Nippon Steel Company is 66 million tons. According to data from the World Iron and Steel Association, the crude steel production of Nippon Steel in 2022 was 44.37 million tons, while the crude steel production of American Steel Company was 14.49 million tons. After the completion of the acquisition by Nippon Steel, it may become the third largest steel manufacturer in the world, second only to China's Baowu and Germany's ArcelorMittal.

After the acquisition, while Nippon A635 CS Steel's production significantly increases, its global carbon footprint will also become more diversified, and the pace of achieving the global crude steel annual production capacity target of 100 million tons will also accelerate. The two companies will share production technology, produce high-quality products, and develop automation and power production technologies in the future. In addition, it is also planned to maintain the current high production level of iron ore by American steel companies.

Prior to this acquisition, in August 2023, Cleveland Cliffs of the United States stated that they had also proposed an acquisition to American Steel in July, but ultimately American Steel did not agree A635 CS steel.