Cleveland-Cliffs is discussing joining with Nucor on a possible bid for U.S. Steel that is still likely months away from happening, according to people familiar with the matter. U.S. Steel had planned to sell itself to Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel,

The move by Cleveland-Cliffs comes after the Biden administration blocked the U.S. Steel-Nippon tie-up on national security grounds.

U.S. Steel shares jumped Monday on a report that Cleveland-Cliffs is teaming up with rival Nucor for a potential bid for the company, whose $14.1 billion buyout by Nippon Steel was recently blocked by President Joe Biden.

Cliffs would purchase all of U.S. Steel for all cash and then sell off the Big River Steel subsidiary to Nucor, sources told CNBC's David Faber. U.S. Steel's headquarters would remain in Pittsburgh under the deal.

The company’s renewed interest comes after the Biden administration blocked Nippon Steel from acquiring the onetime American powerhouse.

With the Nippon Steel purchase of U. S. Steel scuttled by presidential decree, might Cleveland-Cliffs join forces with Nucor to make an offer? Cleveland-Cliffs could target the integrated mills, and Nucor could take ownership of Big River Steel, an electric arc furnace in Arkansas .Nordroden/iStock/Getty Images Plus

D.R. Horton and Nucor Are among the stocks smashed in the fourth quarter, that I believe can make a strong recovery.

U.S. Steel ( X 0.41%) has been in the news for months since Japan's Nippon Steel made a generous offer for the iconic American steelmaker. Nippon's $14.9 billion bid in late 2023 represented a nearly 40% premium to U.S. Steel's share price at the time.

United States Steel Corp. shares rose after CNBC reported that Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. and Nucor Corp. are considering a takeover bid of the iconic American steelmaker.

Nippon's offer to buy USS was $14 billion while, according to Cliff CEO Lourenco Goncalves, Cliffs' final bid was $13.8 billion. Before Biden killed the Nippon deal, a bipartisan group, including incoming President Donald Trump, also opposed the deal.

Lourenco Goncalves, the CEO of Ohio-based steelmaker Cleveland Cliffs, said in a news conference Monday, Jan. 13, 2025, that he wanted to make a new bid for U.S. Steel, which accepted the buyout offer from Nippon in 2023 after it rejected an offer by Cleveland-Cliffs.

Nucor Corp. (NYSE: NUE) will build a $200 million plant at an existing campus in Utah as the Charlotte steelmaker further expands one of its business lines.