The American industrial icon has survived two World Wars and the Great Depression, but it appears it won’t make it through Bidenomics.
US Steel, one of the most iconic companies of the industrial revolution, is on the cusp of being acquired in what could very well reshape the global steel marketplace.
On Sunday, US Steel rejected Cleveland-Cliffs’ $7.3 billion buyout proposal, only to turn around and receive an even bigger $7.8 billion offer from industrial conglomerate Esmark on Monday. Shares of US Steel soared more than 30%, indicating that the bidding for the 122-year-old steel producer is only going to get more intense.
If Cleveland-Cliffs succeeds in acquiring US Steel, their combined company would become one of the top 10 steelmakers in the world and one of the top four outside of China. With such a consolidation of power, it’s likely that antitrust regulators and big buyers of steel will be pushing back to ensure competition remains open.
US Steel has been a symbol of American industry ever since it was founded in 1901 by J.P. Morgan and Andrew Carnegie. Since then, it has supplied hundreds of millions of tons of steel to the US military during World Wars I and II, in addition to supplying steel for automobiles and appliances.
Though it was once the primary tenant of the US Steel Tower in Pittsburgh, its name no longer hangs at the top. That honor now belongs to UPMC, a local health system. It would be a bitter irony to lose the iconic US Steel name from the Tower, just as it seems poised to become a part of history.
Americans have come to know US Steel as a symbol of strength and industrialization. Now, Bidenomics seems to have it number.
In a little less than a month, two American industrial giants have fallen. The Trucking company Yellow is filing for bankruptcy and now the titan US Steel is on the verge of disappearing.
