Shares of Nippon Steel Corp. fell after reports surfaced suggesting that the company may consider investing up to $7 billion in upgrading facilities of United States Steel Corp. following its proposed $14.1 billion acquisition bid. This new potential commitment exceeds the previous $2.7 billion promise made by the Japanese company for revamping the American steelmaker's outdated assets. United States Steel shares rose over 7% in after-hours trading on Thursday, while Nippon Steel experienced a decline of up to 3.98% in Friday's trading in Tokyo, accounting for the impact of trading ex-dividend.

According to news website Semafor, the two companies are actively discussing ways to salvage the deal that was initially announced in late 2023. The Japanese company's executives, led by Vice President Takahiro Mori, are presently in talks with White House officials in Washington to seek approval for the acquisition. Despite President Donald Trump's previous opposition to the takeover, he expressed openness to Nippon Steel acquiring a minority stake in the US giant. Both Nippon Steel and US Steel representatives declined to comment on the report.