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Nippon Steel (OTCPK:NPSCY) (OTCPK:NISTF) Vice Chairman Takahiro Mori is returning to the U.S. this week for more talks over the proposed acquisition of US Steel (NYSE:X), just two weeks after a previous trip to the U.S., highlighting the efforts the Japanese company is taking to close the purchase amid growing scrutiny.
Mori told Reuters he would return to the U.S. this week for more talks, including in Washington D.C., and that Nippon Steel (OTCPK:NPSCY) (OTCPK:NISTF) might consider selling some assets if required by U.S. regulators to approve the deal.
Reports have said an Alabama manufacturing plant jointly owned by Nippon Steel (OTCPK:NPSCY) (OTCPK:NISTF) and ArcelorMittal is a focus of antitrust concerns by U.S. authorities.
But Mori downplayed the likelihood of any asset sales, telling Reuters “I do not think this is necessary for this deal’s closure.”
Mori also pointed to the 2011 takeover of U.S. company Standard Steel by Sumitomo Metal Industries, which is now part of Nippon Steel (OTCPK:NPSCY) (OTCPK:NISTF), as an example of what he hopes the U.S. Steel (X) purchase could achieve.
Mori said he hopes the takeover process would run more smoothly after the U.S. presidential election, believing the deal would stop being a political issue.
The two steelmakers said last week that they received all regulatory approvals outside the U.S. for their proposed merger, a step towards the deal’s completion.