U.S. Steel rival Cliffs slams Nippon Steel deal as historic 'fiasco'

NEW YORK -- The head of American steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs, the onetime candidate to acquire United States Steel, came out Tuesday leveling pointed criticisms against Nippon Steel's buyout of the target, describing the pending deal as a "fiasco" of epic proportions.

U.S. Steel's shareholders approved the $14.9 billion takeover by Nippon Steel in an extraordinary meeting April 12. But the United Steelworkers (USW) union, the largest union in the U.S. manufacturing sector, remains opposed to the acquisition.