Investing.com -- US Steel plunged on Wednesday after the Washington Post reported, citing unnamed sources, that President Joe Biden is set to block the U.S. steel maker's $14.9B merger with Japan's Nippon Steel amid national security concerns.
United States Steel (NYSE:X) Corp (BVMF:USSX34) closed 17% lower on Wednesday.
A White House official declined to comment to the Washington Post's request for comment, but said in a statement that Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States had not yet transmitted its recommendation to the president.
Nippon Steel argued that the merger, which would create the third-largest steel company in the world, would help the U.S. steel maker better compete with its Chinese rivals.
Nippon Steel had attempted to smooth over concerns about its takeover of United States Steel, saying on Wednesday that it keep the U.S. company headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and pledged to board of directors made of mainly of U.S. citizens.