Lourenco Goncalves, the president and CEO of Cleveland-Cliffs, revealed recently that if his company acquires U.S. Steel, he plans to move the headquarters of the combined company to Pittsburgh and stay there with his top executives. He made the remarks during a news conference in Pennsylvania.
Goncalves disclosed that the name United States Steel Corporation would be retained by the combined entity, and Cleveland would go by that name for its mining operations. Comparing, he drew parallels with NationsBank’s decision to use the name Bank of America after acquiring the company.
Since August 2023, when Goncalves made the unsolicited bid for U.S. Steel, the proposed acquisition by Cleveland-Cliffs has been debated. Initially rejected, it prompted competitive offers, including that from Japan-based Nippon Steel. President Biden blocked the $14 billion deal by Nippon based on national security.
Since then, Nippon and U.S. Steel have lodged cases that challenged the decision and labeled Cleveland-Cliffs as a collusive tenderer. Goncalves argued the allegations were groundless as he repeated his stance on purchasing U.S. Steel and further engraving it into being the embodiment of American steel production.
The Greater Cleveland Partnership said that it needed Cleveland-Cliffs to retain its headquarters in Northeast Ohio. GCP Chief Executive Baiju Shah said the company had a long history of commitment to the region and vowed to fight to retain it there.
Goncalves, however, said he remains upbeat. He is still optimistic despite his statement saying that Cleveland-Cliffs can’t move ahead unless U.S. Steel management abandons its merger with Nippon. Until such time, though, the fate of this super deal remains indefinite.
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