After being named in a separate Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel lawsuit against the Biden administration’s decision to block the nearly $15 billion buyout deal, the CEO of Cleveland-Cliffs is speaking out over its racketeering and anti-competitiveness allegations.
"My response [will] be given in court. And I have never had so much time to prepare for a lawsuit that I knew that was coming. So we are armored through the teeth and the Japanese will learn... about the judicial process in the United States. It is a two-way street, and we are going to discuss this in court," Lourenco Goncalves said in an exclusive interview on "Mornings with Maria" Tuesday.
"I think no other deal has been more scrutinized than this deal. They actually went through three 90-day periods of analysis," he continued. "Some were in favor of the deal and some were not. And the law says in situations like that, the deal goes to the President of the United States, and the President of the United States makes the decision. That's exactly what happened."
Last Friday, President Biden announced his decision to block the sale of U.S. Steel to Japan-owned Nippon Steel, which was valued at nearly $15 billion. The two steel companies filed a joint lawsuit against the U.S. government in response, claiming that Biden used "undue influence to advance his political agenda."
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A separate lawsuit alleges that Cleveland-Cliffs, Goncalves, and United Steelworkers (USW) President David McCall illegally coordinated to prevent the transaction and undermined U.S. Steel’s ability to compete.
Before accepting Nippon's offer, U.S. Steel turned down Cleveland-Cliffs' $7 billion buyout offer in 2023.
"Let's fix this record once and for all: $7 billion was my initial bid, and the auction lasts like six months," Goncalves explained. "And through the auction, I went up to $54 per share. And then my number was magically beaten by a dollar in the last hours."
"The point is, this deal was illegally bought," the CEO said before clarifying that Cleveland-Cliffs no longer has any interest in purchasing U.S. Steel.
"[The] situation has changed. The backdrop of the market changed. We have a new president coming to town... And Trump said right away that the deal would be blocked immediately. Biden took more than one year to do what he had to do, and now the Japanese seem to be surprised with the outcome," Goncalves added.
A White House spokesperson clarified last week that Biden’s decision was made on the basis of national security, and that he "will never hesitate to protect the security of this nation, its infrastructure, and the resilience of its supply chains."
Despite Nippon and U.S. Steel’s legal actions, Goncalves believes the deal stands no chance of being resuscitated.
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"Nippon Steel cannot and will not buy U.S. Steel. That's U.S. Steel, so the American corporation should continue to be American," the CEO said. "The deal has been blocked and suing the President of the United States is a bad idea."
In a prepared statement on Monday, Nippon and U.S. Steel said: "From the outset of the process, both Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel have engaged in good faith with all parties to underscore how the Transaction will enhance, not threaten, United States national security, including by revitalizing communities that rely on American steel, bolstering the American steel supply chain, and strengthening America’s domestic steel industry against the threat from China… Nippon Steel is the only partner both willing and able to make the necessary investments."
FOX Business’ Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.
