The battle for United States Steel (U.S. Steel) is intensifying, leaving investors uncertain about their next move. After multiple offers for the entire company and its assets, steelmaking peer Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) disclosed a cash-and-stock offer of $35 per share on Sunday. However, U.S. Steel rejected this offer as inadequate.
In response, privately held Pittsburgh-based Esmark made a move by announcing its all-cash bid of $35 per share for U.S. Steel, totaling approximately $7.8 billion. Cash bids like this can be more appealing to investors as they don’t have to worry about the stock performance of the other company involved.
Shares of U.S. Steel experienced a significant increase of almost 37% on Monday, closing at $31.08. Additionally, Cliffs stock saw an upswing of almost 9%. The emergence of the Esmark bid led to another $2 jump in U.S. Steel stock. However, in premarket trading on Tuesday, U.S. Steel stock experienced a slight decline of 0.9%, while S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures both dropped about 0.6%.
Despite the gains made on Monday, U.S. Steel stock remains approximately $5 below the bid prices offered by both Cleveland-Cliffs and Esmark. This suggests that investors are still grappling with how to interpret these bids and what actions to take.
Market Concentration Concerns for Cleveland-Cliffs
Esmark: A Less Familiar Player
The Scale of Service Centers
