-

Ancora Announces Suspension of Campaign Following President Trump’s Initiation of New CFIUS Review of U.S. Steel’s Sale to Nippon Steel

Acknowledges U.S. Steel and Nippon Have Established a Strong, Ongoing Dialogue With the Federal Government to Address Transaction-Related Concerns and Pursue Near-Term Approval

Recognizes a Large Cross-Section of Stakeholders Expect the $55 Per Share Transaction Will be Approved

Shocked by U.S. Steel’s Refusal to Provide Stockholders With Key Deal-Related Information, Which was Entirely Achievable by Postponing the 2025 Annual Meeting Until After the New CFIUS Review Concludes

CLEVELAND--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ancora Holdings Group, LLC (collectively with its affiliates, “Ancora” or “we”), a stockholder of United States Steel Corporation (NYSE: X) (“U.S. Steel” or the “Company”), today announced that it is withdrawing its nomination of director candidates for election at the 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the “Annual Meeting”) due to apparent momentum related to the $55 per share sale to Nippon Steel Corporation (“Nippon”).1 Recent reports indicate that the Company and Nippon may have succeeded in having productive conversations with the Trump Administration to address concerns and discuss significantly increased capital commitments.2 Additionally, based on language included in Monday’s Presidential Action, we suspect the companies have taken steps to try to mitigate national security considerations.3 We imagine this is why labor leaders, policy experts and stockholders have recently suggested they expect the sale will be approved.

Our decision to suspend our campaign also stems from U.S. Steel’s embrace of entrenchment tactics. Once it became clear in February that there may still be a path to approval for the $55 per share sale to Nippon, Ancora began sending repeated requests to the Company to postpone the Annual Meeting to allow stockholders to have full information and make truly informed voting decisions. The Company demonstrated a disappointing disregard for sound governance by ignoring our pleas and, as recently as yesterday, continuing to attack us while reiterating the May 6 date. Keep in mind that May 6, 2025 comes just weeks before the new governmental review is expected to conclude. We can only assume U.S. Steel is taking this tact because it is increasingly confident about the transaction’s approval.

Please trust that Ancora always wants fellow stockholders and stakeholders to benefit from the best outcomes, which in this case is the seemingly probable closing of the $55 per share transaction. Stockholders will hopefully be able to rejoice over strong returns and that a consummated deal will end the era of broken relationships and destructive decisions during the tenures of David Burritt and his loyal directors. We consider Mr. Burritt, a non-operator who has been called out by federal lawmakers over a “repulsive conflict of interest,” to be one of the worst leaders in Corporate America.4 This is why Ancora launched this campaign in the first place when former President Biden issued the Executive Order blocking the deal, because we truly believed that U.S. Steel could return to greatness with proven and qualified leadership in place.

Ancora wishes to conclude this stage of its campaign by thanking our fellow stockholders, the United Steelworkers and all other parties willing to engage with us in recent months.

About Ancora

Founded in 2003, Ancora Holdings Group, LLC offers integrated investment advisory, wealth management, retirement plan services and insurance solutions to individuals and institutions across the United States. The firm is a long-term supporter of union labor and has a history of working with union groups and public pension plans to deliver long-term value. Ancora’s comprehensive service offering is complemented by a dedicated team that has the breadth of expertise and operational structure of a global institution, with the responsiveness and flexibility of a boutique firm. Ancora Alternatives is the alternative asset management division of Ancora Holdings Group, investing across three primary strategies: activism, multi-strategy and commodities. For more information about Ancora Alternatives, please visit www.ancoraalts.com.

_________________________

1 Associated Press article entitled “US Steel hits 52-week high after Trump orders new security review of Nippon Steel bid,” dated April 8, 2025 (link).

2 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article entitled “Nippon ups proposed investment in U.S. Steel as it tries to sway Trump on deal,” dated March 28, 2025 (link).

3 Presidential Action entitled “Review of Proposed United States Steel Corporation Acquisition,” dated April 7, 2025 (link).

4 Letter issued by Senators Elizabeth Warren and Sherrod Brown, dated October 2, 2024 (link).

 

Contacts

Longacre Square Partners LLC
Greg Marose / Ashley Areopagita, 646-386-0091
gmarose@longacresquare.com / aareopagita@longacresquare.com

Ancora Holdings Group, LLC

NYSE:X

Release Versions

Contacts

Longacre Square Partners LLC
Greg Marose / Ashley Areopagita, 646-386-0091
gmarose@longacresquare.com / aareopagita@longacresquare.com

More News From Ancora Holdings Group, LLC

Ancora Issues Statement on the CSX Board’s Decision to Heed Shareholder Feedback and Initiate a CEO Change

CLEVELAND--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ancora Holdings Group, LLC (collectively with its affiliates, “Ancora” or “we”), a shareholder of CSX Corp. (NASDAQ: CSX) (“CSX” or the “Company”), today issued the below statement. Fredrick D. DiSanto, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ancora Holdings Group LLC, and James Chadwick, President of Ancora Alternatives LLC, commented: “We applaud the CSX Board of Directors for heeding shareholder feedback and terminating former CEO Joe Hinrichs. This follows Ancora...

Ancora Issues Letter to CSX’s Board of Directors Regarding the Need to Avert a Permanent Impairment of Value and Aggressively Pursue a Value-Maximizing Merger

CLEVELAND--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ancora Holdings Group, LLC (together with its affiliates, “Ancora” or “we”) today disclosed the below letter sent to the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of CSX Corporation (NASDAQ: CSX) (“CSX” or the “Company”) on August 6, 2025. Since sending this letter via private channels, CSX has ignored us and not even confirmed receipt of our correspondence. As this occurred, trusted sources informed us that the Company’s advisors appeared to be breaching their ethical obliga...

Ancora Issues Statement of Support for Pitney Bowes

CLEVELAND--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ancora Holdings Group, LLC (together with its affiliates, “Ancora” or “we”) today issued the below statement following its decision to redeem its investment in the long-term special purpose vehicle managed by Hestia Capital Management LLC and, in turn, start directly holding its shares of Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE: PBI) (“Pitney Bowes” or the “Company”) due to the size of the position. Fredrick D. DiSanto, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ancora Holdings Group L...
Back to Newsroom