© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The logos of Nippon Steel Corp. are didplayed at the company headquarters in Tokyo, Japan March 18, 2019. Picture taken March 18, 2019. REUTERS/Yuka Obayashi/File Photo
TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan’s Nippon Steel is planning to purchase United States Steel (NYSE:) in a deal expected to exceed 1 trillion yen ($7.01 billion), the newspaper reported on Monday.
A spokesperson for Nippon Steel declined to comment on the report.
Nippon Steel sees the U.S. as a growth market that can help to offset declining demand in Japan, the Nikkei daily said, adding that the company plans to make U.S. Steel a wholly owned subsidiary.
Shares in U.S. Steel were up about 3% in U.S. premarket trading. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
($1 = 142.5600 yen)