Biden administration delays enforcement of order blocking Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel deal

WASHINGTON –

The Biden administration will hold off enforcing a requirement laid out in an executive order this month that Nippon Steel abandon its $14.9 billion bid for U.S. Steel, the companies said on Saturday.

U.S. President Joe Biden blocked Nippon Steel’s planned acquisition of U.S. Steel on national security grounds on Jan. 3, and his Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said this week that the proposed deal had received a “thorough analysis” by interagency review body, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.

The delay will give the courts time to review a legal challenge brought by the parties earlier this month against Biden’s order. The parties previously had 30 days to unwind their transaction.