American Steel (X888casinonodepositbonus(us) shareholders voted Friday to approve Nippon Steel's proposal to buy the company for $14.9 billion, in line with market expectations. Us Steel said more than 98 per cent of the votes voted for the deal. Friday's vote is an important step in closing the deal. However, the deal still faces intense regulatory pressure. American Steel closed down 2% on Friday.888casinonodepositbonus.1%, at $41.33, is well below the purchase price of $55 a share, reflecting uncertainty about whether the deal will be approved by regulators.

In December, Nippon Steel, the world's fourth-largest steelmaker, announced that it would buy US Steel for $14.9 billion in all-cash. Nippon Steel, which has deep pockets, hopes to expand its footprint in the US, strengthen its position as a global giant and use overseas expansion to cope with weak domestic demand. The acquisition is also expected to increase the company's global crude steel production capacity to 100 million tons.

However, the deal drew criticism from Democratic and Republican lawmakers, as well as the powerful Steelworkers Union. The United Steelworkers urged regulators to "conduct a comprehensive review" of the deal and determine whether the merger was "in the national security interests and workers' interests of the United States". The White House said it was necessary to "carefully review" the deal given the company's role in US steel production, which the US government believes is vital to national security.

Us President Joe Biden has previously said that the US steel asset should remain in the United States. Trump, Biden's rival, has promised to block the deal if he is re-elected. According to reports this week, the Justice Department has launched an extended antitrust investigation into the deal, according to people familiar with the matter. That means deals that the two companies had hoped to approve in the second or third quarter will be further delayed and may not be resolved until after the November presidential election. If Nippon Steel completes the acquisition, the Japanese company will control about 20 million tons of US production capacity. The US Department of Justice may review any other assets currently owned by Nippon Steel to ensure that there is no anti-competitive behaviour.

The acquisition is also being reviewed by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which examines the national security issues that may arise from overseas acquisitions of US companies, according to people familiar with the matter. The review is expected to take several months and a decision will be made later this year or early next year.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Nippon Steel's main negotiator on the deal, Takahiro Mori, said Nippon Steel remained in touch with the United Steelworkers and made some specific commitments on job security, investment and other areas. Takahiro Mori reiterated that Nippon Steel will abide by all existing agreements between American Steel and the United Steelworkers and will not lay off staff, close facilities or move production overseas. Nippon Steel had previously said it planned to complete the deal by the end of September, would retain the US steel brand and had received a $16 billion financing commitment from the Bank of Japan.

Nippon Steel said in a statement that it was "confident" that the acquisition would "protect and develop US steel and bring significant benefits to its stakeholders, both for the US steel industry and for the US as a whole". Takahiro Mori represents888casinonodepositbonus: "888casinonodepositbonusWe look forward to working closely with American Steel to move forward as the 'best steelmaker with the world's leading capabilities'. "