Nippon Steel plans to sell at least 30 billion yen ($211 million) in assets this fiscal year to manage its debt as it awaits the outcome of its $14.9 billion bid for U.S. Steel, according to Vice Chairman Takahiro Mori, as reported by Nikkei on Friday.
Earlier this year, the Japanese steelmaker secured $16 billion in loans from three major Japanese banks to finance the acquisition. However, the deal faces political hurdles in the U.S. ahead of the November 5th presidential elections.
Nippon Steel plans to offload real estate and inventories to enhance capital efficiency during the U.S. Steel takeover process. The company’s debt-to-equity ratio is expected to rise from 0.5 to 0.9 due to the acquisition but could decrease to 0.7 by March if certain measures are taken.
