All's Fair in Love and Sales.

You're listening to Motley Full Money.

I'm Mary Long, joined today by Jason Moser.

Jamo, good to have you here.

Hey.

We got stories today of two potential sales, one that's hit a bit of a snag and another that still got a lot of question marks surrounding it. First up, that sale that's hit a snag is U.S. Steel. This is a company that was planning to be acquired by Japan's Nippon Steel. The proposed acquisition was first announced back in December of 2023,

but it was blocked by the Biden administration about two weeks ago due to national security concerns.

The most recent update is that last week, U.S. Steel and Napan Steel sued the Biden administration for attempting to stop the sale. They also filed a RICO

complaint against their rival Cleveland Cliffs and a few other entities, one of them being Cleveland

Cliffs' CEO Lorenzo Gonsolvis, who will talk a bit more about down the line, as well as the

head of the United Steelworkers Union. The suing of the Biden administration was largely expected, but it's this RICO complaint

that kind of upped the animosity of this whole situation.

So why do that?

Why do U.S. Steel and Neponsdale want to pair up so badly?

Well, I think like most mergers, much of this just boils down to economics, right?

I mean, like one of my econ professors in college always said at the end of the day, economics rule.

And, I mean, combining these two companies, I mean, that increases market share, makes them, you know, a more competitive entity on a global scale. I mean, you always hear

that word synergies, right? I mean, that they feel like you can realize some synergies there

with the two companies working together. Also, probably some cost savings involved, gives them

the ability to continue to invest in the business, invest in technology, and then ultimately grow,

right? I mean, it gives them access to new markets, expanding their reach into new markets

and new customer bases. So my guess is that's the primary reason why they're so set on trying

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