At around 7:05 p.m. GMT, the share price dropped 18.74% on the New York Stock Exchange, its lowest level in over a year.
Shares of steelmaker US Steel plunged nearly 20% on Wednesday after le Washington Post reported that US President Joe Biden was preparing to formally block the takeover of the group by its rival Nippon Steel.
At around 19:05 GMT, the stock dropped 18.74% on the New York Stock Exchange, its lowest level in over a year. According to the American daily, the head of state is preparing to carry out the threat he has been brandishing for several months, namely to prevent the absorption of US Steel by Nippon Steel. Announced in December, this operation worth 14 billion dollars is suspended, as it stands, due to the lack of authorization from regulators.
Asked by AFP, the White House indicated on Wednesday that the report from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), responsible for examining the case, had not yet transmitted its conclusions to Joe Biden. “This is the next step”explained an official.
The US Steel issue has become a campaign issue because the group is established in Pennsylvania, a crucial state for the American presidential election. Polls indicate that the two candidates, Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris, are neck and neck in this territory that only swung by a few tens of thousands of votes in 2016 (Trump) and 2020 (Biden).
