US Steel, one of the first major conglomerates and a symbol of American industrial might, has agreed to be bought by Nippon Steel, Japan's largest steelmaker, in a $14.1 billion deal.
The deal marks the latest step in a gradual decline for the iconic 122-year old company, which was once the largest company on the planet.
Under terms of the deal, US Steel's operations will retain its name and will continue to have a headquarters in Pittsburgh. But the deal could still stir opposition.
US Steel was created in 1901 through a merger when a group led by J.P. Morgan and Charles Schwab, two of the world's leading financiers of the time, bought the steel company owned by Andrew Carnegie and combined it with their holdings in its rival Federal Steel company. The new company became the world's first to be valued at more than $1 billion, double the entire US budget that year. The deal made owner Andrew Carnegie the richest man in the world.
In the early part of the last century, the company produced the steel that helped the United States become a global economic superpower, providing steel not just for skyscrapers, bridges and dams, but also for autos, appliances and other products craved by American consumers.
