Cleveland-Cliffs clears regulatory hurdle to buy Stelco

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. has announced the expiration of a waiting period mandated under the federal Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 relating to its pending acquisition of Canada-based steelmaker Stelco Holdings Inc. Rules of that act are overseen by the United States Department of Justice.

According to the Cleveland-based steelmaking and iron mining firm, “The expiration of the HSR Act waiting period clears an important regulatory hurdle and marks a significant step toward the closing of this acquisition, which is expected to occur in the fourth quarter of 2024 following the satisfaction or waiver of other customary closing conditions and approvals.”

Last month, Cleveland-Cliffs amended its $4.75 billion asset-based lending (ABL) facility as part of the financing arrangements for the pending acquisition, marking an earlier step forward in completing the transaction.

“We are excited to secure this critical step in the process and move another step closer toward completing this transformative acquisition of Stelco,” Cliffs President and CEO Lourenco Goncalves says. “This acquisition will provide us more resilience and geographic diversification in a highly competitive global market.”

Cleveland-Cliffs announced its intended acquisition of Stelco in July. The move has taken place while the Cleveland-based company retains hope that its bid for the assets of Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel Corp., announced last summer, can remain viable.

The board and shareholders of U.S. Steel have instead approved a competing bid by Japan-based Nippon Steel Corp. (NSC). However, NSC is awaiting approval from one or more federal agencies in a transaction that has met with political opposition during a presidential and congressional election year.