By Kaori Kaneko and Kantaro Komiya
TOKYO (Reuters) -Nippon Steel is considering offering a so-called golden share in U.S. Steel to the U.S. government in order to finalise its long-sought acquisition of the iconic American firm, Japan’s Nikkei newspaper reported on Tuesday. Deliberations over the idea, which would give Washington the power to veto important management matters, were also reported by Japan’s Kyodo news agency. Neither outlet cited sources for the information. Nippon Steel declined to comment on the reports and the White House could not be immediately reached for comment. Japan’s top steelmaker has for months sought to seal a $14.9 billion bid to acquire U.S. Steel, with the deal subjected to two rounds of national security reviews by the secretive Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. President Donald Trump on Friday signaled support for the deal, sending the shares of both companies leaping higher, but his comments have left lingering questions about the scope of the deal and its costs for the Japanese firm. Trump said on Sunday that the United States will have “control” over U.S. Steel as part of the company’s “partnership” with the Japanese firm, but did not elaborate. If the acquisition is approved, Nippon Steel plans to buy all of U.S. Steel’s shares and delist them, Nikkei reported. It would then be able to issue a golden share and transfer it to the U.S. government, Nikkei said. The idea is among several being weighed by Nippon Steel and it has not yet been shared with the U.S. government, it added.
(Reporting by Kaori Kaneko, Kentaro Komiya, Yuka Obayashi; Additional reporting by Susan Heavey in Washington; Writing by John Geddie; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
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