Cliffs, US Steel agree to keep bid viable

Pittsburgh-based United States Steel Corp. and fellow steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. reportedly have agreed to terms on a nondisclosure agreement (NDA) that will allow Cliffs to remain a contender to buy all or part of U.S. Steel.

A late-September report by Reuters indicates that while U.S. Steel sought a six-month “standstill agreement” that would allow U.S. Steel’s board and management to conduct due diligence on bids without field questions from Cliffs. Eventually and after some reported animosity, according to Reuters, two companies agreed on a two-month standstill window.

Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves has contended the firm’s offer does not require a lengthy due diligence period, based on its cash and stock nature. Cliffs also says its endorsement by the United Steelworkers (USW) union serves to expedite its bid.

As of Oct. 1, neither company has posted a notice to confirm the NDA or standstill agreement. In its reporting, Reuters has cited a source who requested anonymity.

In late August, U.S. Steel stated it had received “unsolicited proposals” which its board was considering. In addition to Cliffs, Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal and Canada-based Stelco Holdings have been reported as bidders, with neither of those two companies confirming their interest.

The acquisition of U.S. Steel by Cleveland-Cliffs, if conducted without a regulatory-prompted sale of some U.S. Steel assets to a third party, would place all of the blast furnace/basic oxygen furnace (BOF) steelmaking capacity in the United States in the hands of one company.

Both firms also have electric arc furnace steelmaking capacity, with U.S. Steel having invested heavily in the Big River EAF complex in Arkansas. Cliffs also owns iron mining assets and multilocation scrap processing firm Ferrous Processing & Trading, based in Detroit.