Asserts President Trump’s February 7th
Remarks Make it Abundantly Clear a Sale to Nippon is Dead and Will
Not be Resurrected: “I Didn't Want it Purchased”
Believes the Board Must Cease Fruitless
Lobbying and Wasteful Litigation in Favor of Immediately Collecting
the $565 Million Termination Fee Owed by Nippon
Deems it Irresponsible for the Board to
Allow David Burritt, a Conflicted and Failed CEO, to Continue
Wasting Time by Pursuing an Unlikely Investment from Nippon
Highlights That
Independent Slate and Steel Industry Legend Alan Kestenbaum Are
Ready to Lead Multibillion-Dollar Capital Investment Program to
Revitalize the Company
Ancora Holdings Group, LLC (collectively with its affiliates,
“Ancora” or “we”), a diversified investment firm that oversees
approximately $10 billion in assets, today issued the below letter
to the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of United States Steel
Corporation (NYSE: X) (“U.S. Steel” or the “Company”) following
President Donald J. Trump’s recent comments that reaffirm his
opposition to a sale of the Company to Nippon Steel Corporation
(“Nippon”). A full copy of President Trump’s remarks can be found
here.
To obtain important updates from Ancora, visit
www.MakeUSSteelGreatAgain.com.
***
February 10, 2025
United States Steel Corporation 600 Grant Street Pittsburgh, PA
15219 Attn: The Board
Dear Members of the Board,
As we told you in our January 27th public letter, the sale to
Nippon is dead. President Trump’s remarks on Friday should confirm
– once and for all – that the sale has no chance of being
resurrected. We applaud his steadfast commitments to protecting
U.S. Steel and reviving America’s industrial and manufacturing
industries. The Board now must decide if it stands with
shareholders or if it still stands with failed Chief Executive
Officer David Burritt, who appears to have driven the Company off a
cliff in pursuit of his $72 million transaction-related payday.
If the Board intends to prove that it is truly aligned with
shareholders, rather than the merger arbitrage funds who favored
Mr. Burritt’s poor gamble on Nippon, it should take the following
steps:
- Immediately terminate the merger agreement and collect the $565
million breakup fee from Nippon;
- Immediately end the exorbitantly expensive deal-related
advocacy and withdraw from the litigation filed with Nippon,
and;
- Finally engage with Ancora, which has offered the Board a
viable catalyst for a turnaround in Alan Kestenbaum, who oversaw
the legendary turnaround at Stelco after U.S. Steel bankrupted the
business.
Our slate of independent director candidates and Mr. Kestenbaum
are prepared to lead a multibillion-dollar capital investment
program focused on reinvigorating the legacy blast furnaces at Mon
Valley and Gary Works while using the proceeds from the breakup fee
to offset upfront capital needs. We are offering the Company access
to a world-class Chief Executive Officer, an experienced set of
director candidates and a clear path to revitalizing the business.
This not only represents the best value proposition put forth by
any domestic party at this time, but it far exceeds what can be
offered by Nippon at this point.
If you opt to continue ignoring us and narrowly focus on what we
expect to be elusive investments from Nippon, we will assume you
are aligned with Mr. Burritt. Under this scenario, we will take all
necessary actions to break the Company’s culture of entrenchment
and prevent the wasting of shareholders’ capital. Long-term
investors do not want any more of their money wasted simply because
Mr. Burritt and his arbitrageur friends hold losing lottery
tickets.
Negotiating an investment from a foreign competitor like Nippon
could take months. This is time that U.S. Steel cannot afford to
misallocate based on the Company’s own statements. If there is no
buyout premium to be paid, the Board should hire a real leader,
like Mr. Kestenbaum, to negotiate on behalf of the long-term
stakeholders of the Company, as opposed to Mr. Burritt who has
seemed more concerned with preserving a change of control payment
than collecting the much-needed breakup fee. Keep in mind, Mr.
Burritt has irreparably destroyed the Company’s relationship with
its union workers, and that contract comes up in the near future.
It is almost unfathomable to envision a scenario in which Mr.
Burritt can successfully execute a new labor agreement that would
be mutually beneficial for shareholders and workers.
In closing, it is time for U.S. Steel to get back to business
and focus on leveraging President Trump’s pending tariffs as a
tailwind for a turnaround. The only thing standing in the way is
Mr. Burritt and his focus on securing a massive golden parachute at
all costs. It is only a matter of time until the Company’s shares
begin to reflect the fact that a busted deal has left investors
with a failed and visionless leader in Mr. Burritt. We urge you, as
fiduciaries, to engage with us before there is any permanent
impairment of value at U.S. Steel.
Regards,
Fredrick D. DiSanto
James Chadwick
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
President
Ancora Holdings Group, LLC
Ancora Alternatives LLC
***
About Ancora
Founded in 2003, Ancora Holdings Group, LLC offers integrated
investment advisory, wealth management, retirement plan services
and insurance solutions to individuals and institutions across the
United States. The firm is a long-term supporter of union labor and
has a history of working with union groups and public pension plans
to deliver long-term value. Ancora’s comprehensive service offering
is complemented by a dedicated team that has the breadth of
expertise and operational structure of a global institution, with
the responsiveness and flexibility of a boutique firm. For more
information about Ancora, please visit https://ancora.net.
CERTAIN INFORMATION CONCERNING THE PARTICIPANTS
Ancora Catalyst Institutional, LP (“Ancora
Catalyst Institutional”), together with the other
participants named herein, intend to file a preliminary proxy
statement and accompanying universal proxy card with the Securities
and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) to be
used to solicit votes for the election of Ancora Catalyst
Institutional’s slate of highly-qualified director nominees at the
2025 annual meeting of stockholders of United States Steel
Corporation, a Delaware corporation (the “Company”).
ANCORA CATALYST INSTITUTIONAL STRONGLY ADVISES ALL STOCKHOLDERS
OF THE COMPANY TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT AND OTHER PROXY
MATERIALS, INCLUDING A PROXY CARD, AS THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE
THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. SUCH PROXY MATERIALS WILL
BE AVAILABLE AT NO CHARGE ON THE SEC'S WEB SITE AT
HTTP://WWW.SEC.GOV. IN ADDITION, THE PARTICIPANTS IN THIS PROXY
SOLICITATION WILL PROVIDE COPIES OF THE PROXY STATEMENT WITHOUT
CHARGE, WHEN AVAILABLE, UPON REQUEST. REQUESTS FOR COPIES SHOULD BE
DIRECTED TO THE PARTICIPANTS' PROXY SOLICITOR.
The participants in the anticipated proxy solicitation are
expected to be Ancora Catalyst Institutional, Ancora Bellator Fund,
LP (“Ancora Bellator”), Ancora
Catalyst, LP (“Ancora Catalyst”),
Ancora Merlin Institutional, LP (“Ancora
Merlin Institutional”), Ancora Merlin, LP (“Ancora Merlin”), Ancora Alternatives LLC,
(“Ancora Alternatives”), Ancora
Holdings Group, LLC (“Ancora
Holdings”), Fredrick D. DiSanto, Jamie Boychuk, Robert P.
Fisher, Jr., Dr. James K. Hayes, Alan Kestenbaum, Roger K. Newport,
Shelley Y. Simms, Peter T. Thomas, and David J. Urban.
As of the date hereof, Ancora Catalyst Institutional directly
beneficially owns 121,589 shares of common stock, par value $1.00
per share (the “Common Stock”), of the
Company, 100 shares of which are held in record name. As of the
date hereof, Ancora Bellator directly beneficially owns 62,384
shares of Common Stock. As of the date hereof, Ancora Catalyst
directly beneficially owns 12,831 shares of Common Stock. As of the
date hereof, Ancora Merlin Institutional directly beneficially owns
123,075 shares of Common Stock. As of the date hereof, Ancora
Merlin directly beneficially owns 11,165 shares of Common Stock. As
the investment advisor and general partner to each of Ancora
Catalyst Institutional, Ancora Bellator, Ancora Catalyst, Ancora
Merlin Institutional, Ancora Merlin and certain separately managed
accounts (the “Ancora Alternatives
SMAs”), Ancora Alternatives may be deemed to beneficially
own the 121,589 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly
by Ancora Catalyst Institutional, 12,831 shares of Common Stock
beneficially owned directly by Ancora Catalyst, 62,384 shares of
Common Stock beneficially owned directly by Ancora Bellator,
123,075 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly by
Ancora Merlin Institutional, 11,165 shares of Common Stock
beneficially owned directly by Ancora Merlin and 137,453 shares of
Common Stock held in the Ancora Alternatives SMAs. As the sole
member of Ancora Alternatives, Ancora Holdings may be deemed to
beneficially own the 121,589 shares of Common Stock beneficially
owned directly by Ancora Catalyst Institutional, 12,831 shares of
Common Stock owned directly by Ancora Catalyst, 62,384 shares of
Common Stock beneficially owned directly by Ancora Bellator,
123,075 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly by
Ancora Merlin Institutional, 11,165 shares of Common Stock
beneficially owned directly by Ancora Merlin, and 137,453 shares of
Common Stock held in the Ancora Alternatives SMAs. As the Chairman
and Chief Executive Officer of Ancora Holdings, Mr. DiSanto may be
deemed to beneficially own the 121,589 shares of Common Stock
beneficially owned directly by Ancora Catalyst Institutional,
12,831 shares of Common Stock owned directly by Ancora Catalyst,
62,384 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly by Ancora
Bellator, 123,075 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned
directly by Ancora Merlin Institutional, 11,165 shares of Common
Stock beneficially owned directly by Ancora Merlin, and 137,453
shares of Common Stock held in the Ancora Alternatives SMAs. As of
the date hereof, Messrs. Boychuk, Fisher, Kestenbaum, Newport,
Thomas, and Urban, Dr. Hayes and Ms. Simms do not beneficially own
any shares of Common Stock.
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Longacre Square Partners LLC Charlotte Kiaie / Ashley
Areopagita, 646-386-0091 ckiaie@longacresquare.com /
aareopagita@longacresquare.com
Saratoga Proxy Consulting LLC John Ferguson / Joseph Mills,
212-257-1311 info@saratogaproxy.com
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