U.S. Steel Acquired By Japanese Steel Corporation In $14.9 Billion Deal

U.S. Steel, a now smaller but once dominant economic engine in Lower Bucks County, has been sold to a foreign company.

Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel will be acquired by Japan’s Nippon Steel Corporation as part of a $14.9 billion deal.

The sale was announced early Monday morning and follows offers from steelmakers ArcelorMittal and Cleveland-Cliffs in recent months.

At a facility in Falls Township, U.S. Steel finishes cold-rolled steel products made at western Pennsylvania plants for use in the automotive, home construction, appliance, and metal building industries.

Current figures were uncertain, but the operation for the finishing facility at the U.S. Steel site in Falls Township employed about 100 people in 2009, according to government records.

CNBC reported the deal will lead to synergies and cost savings, but there was no word on impacts to U.S. operations.

The sale was heralded by the two companies as addressing growth in demand for high-grade steel in the U.S. and around the globe, bringing together two large international steelmakers, and a good financial decision for shareholders.

“Nippon Steel Corporation has long admired U. S. Steel with deep respect for its advanced technologies, rich history, and talented workforce and we believe we can jointly take on the challenge of raising our aspirations to even greater heights. The transaction builds on our presence in the United States,” said Nippon Steel Corporation President Eiji Hashimoto.

“Today’s announcement also benefits the United States – ensuring a competitive, domestic steel industry, while strengthening our presence globally,” said U.S. Steel President and CEO David Burritt.

The United Steelworkers Union issued a comment from President David McCall that stated the deal was part of U.S. Steel’s “greedy, shortsighted attitude.”

Nippon Steel Corporation said in a statement that it will honor all employment and union contracts.

Nippon Steel Corporation is one of the largest international steel manufacturers, with more than 100,000 employees around the globe. It already operates in the U.S.

U.S. Steel is an iconic name in American industry and was founded in 1901.

U.S. Steel once had an outsized influence in Bucks County due to the large Fairless Works complex. Most of the complex has been sold off and is being redeveloped for warehouse uses.

The Fairless Works complex began in 1952. The site, which was built on largely empty land along the river and farm property, included the large steel mill, a coke (fuel used in the steel making process) production plant, steel making and forging operations, a powerhouse, and chemical plant.

By the 1970s, more than 5,000 people worked at the site.

As the years wore on, U.S. Steel slashed thousands of positions and in 2001 closed the majority of the site.

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