US Steel shareholders approve takeover by Japan's Nippon Steel opposed by Biden administration

U.S. Steel's Mon Valley Works Clairton Plant in Clairton, Pa., is shown on Monday, Feb. 26, 2024. U.S. Steel shareholders overwhelmingly approved the firm's sale Friday, Apri 12, 2024, to Nippon Steel of Japan for $14.1 billion in cash, voicing unequivocal support for a combination that has drawn opposition from the Biden administration on economic and national security grounds. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — U.S. Steel shareholders have overwhelmingly approved the company's sale to Nippon Steel of Japan for $14.1 billion in cash, voicing unequivocal support for a combination that has drawn opposition from the Biden administration on economic and national security grounds.

More than 98% of the shares voted at a special investor meeting Friday approved the takeover, according to a preliminary count of ballots announced by Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel.

The transaction has raised concerns about what the sale could mean for unionized workers, supply chains and U.S. national security.

President Joe Biden has come out in opposition to the deal, saying in March that the U.S. needs to “maintain strong American steel companies powered by American steelworkers.” Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Wednesday during a White House news conference that he hopes discussions on Nippon “will unfold in directions that would be positive for both sides.”

The United Steelworkers, which represents the U.S. Steel labor force, did not respond to requests by The Associated Press for comment on the shareholder vote.