The US Justice Department has opened an expanded antitrust investigation into Nippon Steel’s $14.1 billion takeover bid for United States Steel Corp, creating additional legal hurdles to completing the deal, according to people familiar with the matter. On command.

Regulators at the ministry are seeking more information for antitrust reasons, according to the people, who asked to remain anonymous while discussing details of the confidential review.

This move indicates a further delay in the deal, which the two companies were looking to be approved in the second or third quarter, and may now not be completed until after the US presidential elections in November.

American-Japanese meeting
The expanded antitrust investigation, which Politico reported earlier, coincides with a meeting held by President Joe Biden in Washington this week with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Biden said he wants US Steel to remain domestically owned, but he stopped short of explicitly pledging to cancel the deal. Donald Trump, Biden’s main rival in this year’s elections, said he would try to prevent it.

Nippon offers to buy US Steel for $14 billion

The Justice Department’s investigation focuses on Nippon Steel’s ownership of a steel mill in Calvert City, Alabama, a joint venture with ArcelorMittal, the world’s second-largest steelmaker, a person familiar with the investigation said.

The Calvert plant recycles raw steel into so-called flat steel, which is used in everything from pipes and rods used in the oil industry to automotive and construction products. The Calvert plant does not produce raw steel, so it must import or buy steel sheets from other companies such as US Steel to make its products.