15 hours ago, snakebite said:

I can't imagine the Board of Directors or Upper Management at Cliffs are happy about their CEO publicly acting like a raving lunatic. I suspect he will be long gone before this reaches a conclusion.

Disparaging the Cliffs brand - saying it’s weaker than the US Steel brand (even if true) before the acquisition is impeachable. What if the deal doesn’t go through?  What potential damage does that cause to shareholders?  His job is to make the Cliffs company and brand worth as much as possible. He just took a big crap on it. 

I want Cleveland Cliffs to stay here as much as anyone else, but I think a lot of us need to take off our homer goggles. Goncalves and the Board have been pursuing this acquisition for over a year, their current strategy hasn't worked so they're sweetening the pot by offering to move the HQ and keep the US Steel name.

 

If we're objective about this, to the Board the location of the HQ between Cleveland and Pittsburg is pretty irrelevant as is the name of the company. Though, again, if we are objective US Steel clearly has the stronger brand name. I've talked to people in Cleveland that don't know who Cleveland Cliffs is or what they do. People know US Steel, they know its history, they know it has its roots with Andrew Carnegie and J.P. Morgan.

 

These things obviously matter a lot to us and it would be detrimental to Cleveland, but the ends of completing the acquisition justify the means in the eyes of the Board. I'll say this again, the Board's loyalty is to its shareholders and no one else and being the largest steel producer in the US, especially if tariffs come in to play, will be beneficial to the shareholders. 

15 minutes ago, Chazz Michael Michaels said:

WHEN DOES AN ACQUIREE GET TO DICTATE TERMS (LIKE A HQ LOCATION)?

-If US Steel chose Nippon because they were going to keep the HQ in Pitt - that's adorable (that deal is dead)

-US Steel needs to be acquired and Cliffs is the acquirer

-For all your bluster Mr. Goncalves, you're in the driver's seat and can dictate terms

-The HQ and staffing should be in Cleveland - FULL STOP

Anything less and Mr. Goncalves is less than his image and bluster

McDonnell-Douglas says hello

 

I'm guessing the board of Cliffs is extremely unhappy behind closed doors right now after that disaster of a press conference. I highly doubt they oust Goncalves, but I'm guessing he's not having a fun few days after that.

10 minutes ago, Luke_S said:

I want Cleveland Cliffs to stay here as much as anyone else, but I think a lot of us need to take off our homer goggles. Goncalves and the Board have been pursuing this acquisition for over a year, their current strategy hasn't worked so they're sweetening the pot by offering to move the HQ and keep the US Steel name.

 

If we're objective about this, to the Board the location of the HQ between Cleveland and Pittsburg is pretty irrelevant as is the name of the company. Though, again, if we are objective US Steel clearly has the stronger brand name. I've talked to people in Cleveland that don't know who Cleveland Cliffs is or what they do. People know US Steel, they know its history, they know it has its roots with Andrew Carnegie and J.P. Morgan.

 

These things obviously matter a lot to us and it would be detrimental to Cleveland, but the ends of completing the acquisition justify the means in the eyes of the Board. I'll say this again, the Board's loyalty is to its shareholders and no one else and being the largest steel producer in the US, especially if tariffs come in to play, will be beneficial to the shareholders. 

What's the alternative? US Steel literally has no leverage if the U.S government is blocking the sale and Cleveland Cliffs is the only realistic buyer. It's not like they have the pick of the litter and can choose between 8 different buyers. You either take this deal or you risk folding and losing thousands of jobs. I'm sure there is another steel company that would want to buy US Steel but the viability of it compared to Cliffs doesn't compare. That's why I don't get the actions of our nutty CEO. 

To me it looked like him desperately say whatever he needed to get a deal. The main obstacles right now are the government, so if he can get folks in PA comfortable, then that gets rid of a roadblock. What I don't understand is why Trump would care about PA and its the Dem. governor/mayor. Kind of shows Vance doesn't have much power, though.

3 minutes ago, coneflower said:

To me it looked like him desperately say whatever he needed to get a deal. The main obstacles right now are the government, so if he can get folks in PA comfortable, then that gets rid of a roadblock. What I don't understand is why Trump would care about PA and its the Dem. governor/mayor. Kind of shows Vance doesn't have much power, though.

I would imagine to maintain support and grow it for MAGA as he can use it as a talking point to show how much his party has done for the state.

I think people are being very sky-is-falling and cynical about this. Also Goncalves is the chairman of the board and has a history of being a blowhard. The idea that he's going to be ousted because of sales puffery attempting to become the world's biggest steel producer seems pretty unfounded.

 

HQ location pretty much doesn't matter except on paper. Oracle moved their HQ to Texas first, then shortly after to Nashville, but they still have more employees in the Bay area than anywhere else. And that's for offices that aren't close to each other. The idea that a company is going to relocate a bunch of jobs two hours away (in the remote-work era no less) just sounds ridiculous to me. It's a two hour drive. I bet most employees probably wouldn't even blink at having to drive from Cleveland to Pittsburgh for meetings a couple times a month. So why would you break your lease and sign some new expensive lease in Pittsburgh when everyone can meet together in person relatively easily without anyone having to move? Forcing all those employees to move to Pittsburgh would make no sense.

 

Also, it seems unlikely that the CEO would just fire a bunch of Cleveland people. The SVPs that he knows and that work for him are in Cleveland mostly. The VPs that work for them are also mostly Cleveland people, etc. To fire the Cleveland people means he would have to want his company run by the people who ran US Steel into the ground as opposed to his friends. Doubt that's going to happen any time soon. If he thought the US Steel people were better, he would be selling his company to them, not the other way.

 

Just another thing to throw out there. Our incoming VP is a life-long Ohioan who literally wrote a book about steel jobs leaving the state. I think the odds that he allows the administration to just meekly go along with Cliffs pulling out of Ohio (which again, nobody with knowledge has actually suggested is happening) are low.

31 minutes ago, Luke_S said:

I want Cleveland Cliffs to stay here as much as anyone else, but I think a lot of us need to take off our homer goggles. Goncalves and the Board have been pursuing this acquisition for over a year, their current strategy hasn't worked so they're sweetening the pot by offering to move the HQ and keep the US Steel name.

 

If we're objective about this, to the Board the location of the HQ between Cleveland and Pittsburg is pretty irrelevant as is the name of the company. Though, again, if we are objective US Steel clearly has the stronger brand name. I've talked to people in Cleveland that don't know who Cleveland Cliffs is or what they do. People know US Steel, they know its history, they know it has its roots with Andrew Carnegie and J.P. Morgan.

The idea solution, as I mentioned previously, would be to change the name to US Steel, but keep the HQ in Cleveland.

1 hour ago, CLEeng said:

McDonnell-Douglas says hello

 

I'm guessing the board of Cliffs is extremely unhappy behind closed doors right now after that disaster of a press conference. I highly doubt they oust Goncalves, but I'm guessing he's not having a fun few days after that.

McDonnell-Douglas is a great example.

Boeing acquired and rather than keep the HQ/culture in Seattle, they moved to Chicago.

The culture changed and Boeing hasn't been the same since.

Anyone want to see Cliffs have Boeing-type issues.

There is a reason why Cliffs had success - yielding to USX's demands and moving the culture is a recipe for disaster -from a business perspective  :)

55 minutes ago, MyPhoneDead said:

What's the alternative? US Steel literally has no leverage if the U.S government is blocking the sale and Cleveland Cliffs is the only realistic buyer. It's not like they have the pick of the litter and can choose between 8 different buyers. You either take this deal or you risk folding and losing thousands of jobs. I'm sure there is another steel company that would want to buy US Steel but the viability of it compared to Cliffs doesn't compare. That's why I don't get the actions of our nutty CEO. 

 

Because from the perspective of the CEO and Board a name change and relocation of the HQ is not a real concession. It will hurt Cleveland, not the shareholders, and I'll say this again, Companies have no loyalty to cities. 

4 minutes ago, Luke_S said:

 

Because from the perspective of the CEO and Board a name change and relocation of the HQ is not a real concession. It will hurt Cleveland, not the shareholders, and I'll say this again, Companies have no loyalty to cities. 

But that's my thing we don't even have to go that far. This isn't like one stable Steel company is making a Hail Mary to take over another one and hope it sticks, this is essentially a lifeline. I don't even see how Pittsburgh is seen as more desirable than the Cleveland Market. 

8 minutes ago, Chazz Michael Michaels said:

McDonnell-Douglas is a great example.

Boeing acquired and rather than keep the HQ/culture in Seattle, they moved to Chicago.

The culture changed and Boeing hasn't been the same since.

Anyone want to see Cliffs have Boeing-type issues.

There is a reason why Cliffs had success - yielding to USX's demands and moving the culture is a recipe for disaster -from a business perspective  :)

Don't forget that a lot of the executives from MD stayed in place at the new merged company.

As a  Cliffs shareholder, I can't say I'm in favor of the deal on the present terms.  Cliffs is paying WAY too much for what they will get. I think Goncalves' ego has blinded him to the hard numbers.

A bit early for doom and gloom with Cleveland Cliffs. Assuming Vance and DeWine are done celebrating the recent anti-trans law, I imagine they will get involved on some level.

 

Then again, if Trump tells his bitches to stand down for a big win in a swing state, then I suppose they'll go back to celebrating the anti-trans victory and keep out of it. 

Cleveland is not Chicago or an East or West Coast mega market or a fast growing sun belt city. Those places can handle losing a big company or jobs. Can we? I’m less convinced. Even in name only its damaging. That's part of the perception. “Cleveland is dying, no wonder they left”. We already had to fight off suburban Atlanta to keep Sherwin WIlliams recently. Sure they might not move everyone straight away but they sure as hell won’t exist in their current form down the line.

16 hours ago, jeremyck01 said:

Enough with the pearl clutching already. Another tired, pointless “only in Cleveland” trope as if this is even close to happening soon (it’s not) and as if this doesn't happen anywhere else in America. 

You must not have followed any development over the years

If they did "move," it could turn out like down in Columbus when Chase bought Bank One a million years ago. Seems like they have only grown jobs since then, although Jamie Dimon is based in NYC.

 

I don't know if JD Vance cares but having the largest steel company HQed in his state would seem to be pretty attractive. I'm not convinced they are playing 4D chess to think about winning PA in 2028. I guess we'll see, though. Impossible to anticipate at this point. Goncalves really wound us up, didn't he! 

 

20 minutes ago, coneflower said:

If they did "move," it could turn out like down in Columbus when Chase bought Bank One a million years ago. Seems like they have only grown jobs since then, although Jamie Dimon is based in NYC.

 

I don't know if JD Vance cares but having the largest steel company HQed in his state would seem to be pretty attractive. I'm not convinced they are playing 4D chess to think about winning PA in 2028. I guess we'll see, though. Impossible to anticipate at this point. Goncalves really wound us up, didn't he! 

 

I think at the levels of Trump, Vance (even if hes from Ohio) etc they are more concerned with the national outlook and that is selling that US Steel is still American owned and operated, thats been a big schtick of the Trump regime, bringing American entities back under domestic ownership as opposed to the Far East or whatever, rightly or wrongly. I don't think they are too bothered whether the operational HQ is in Cleveland or Pittsburgh. Thats more for state or local levels. Maybe if it was the rust belt losing out to the sun belt or something they would get involved (I still doubt it), as they've rode the coat tails somewhat on gaining votes in areas that have suffered deindustrialization at the expense of new money cities, but to big time politicians in DC, whats the difference between CLE and PGH? I am being somewhat facetious but might as well be the same place such is the level of ignorance and disinterest of some. 

Edited January 15Jan 15 by snakebite

5 hours ago, LibertyBlvd said:

The idea solution, as I mentioned previously, would be to change the name to US Steel, but keep the HQ in Cleveland.

I share this same sentiment

Okay, folks, I don't know HOW Cincinnati or Columbus AGAIN got brought up in a thread about a Cleveland business potentially moving to Pittsburgh but if I see it again, you'll be suspended for, dunno, like a month or something.  Let's just stick to the topic, thanks.

 

 

1 hour ago, snakebite said:

I think at the levels of Trump, Vance (even if hes from Ohio) etc they are more concerned with the national outlook and that is selling that US Steel is still American owned and operated, thats been a big schtick of the Trump regime, bringing American entities back under domestic ownership as opposed to the Far East or whatever, rightly or wrongly. I don't think they are too bothered whether the operational HQ is in Cleveland or Pittsburgh. Thats more for state or local levels. Maybe if it was the rust belt losing out to the sun belt or something they would get involved (I still doubt it), as they've rode the coat tails somewhat on gaining votes in areas that have suffered deindustrialization at the expense of new money cities, but to big time politicians in DC, whats the difference between CLE and PGH? I am being somewhat facetious but might as well be the same place such is the level of ignorance and disinterest of some. 

I'd say the diference is 2026 and 2028 elections. Pennsylvania getting a huge win with US Steel under the MAGA administration won't be forgotten by their voters.

 

And Goncavles' behavior was definitely performative for a certain audience.

 

Edited January 15Jan 15 by TBideon

6 hours ago, Chazz Michael Michaels said:

McDonnell-Douglas is a great example.

Boeing acquired and rather than keep the HQ/culture in Seattle, they moved to Chicago.

The culture changed and Boeing hasn't been the same since.

Anyone want to see Cliffs have Boeing-type issues.

There is a reason why Cliffs had success - yielding to USX's demands and moving the culture is a recipe for disaster -from a business perspective  :)

Yep, it was said at the time that MCD bought Boeing with Boeing's money.

Unless I'm reading it wrong, wouldn't this just be a case where Cliffs operates USS as a separate subsidiary with a local HQ in Pit?

6 hours ago, Chazz Michael Michaels said:

McDonnell-Douglas is a great example.

Boeing acquired and rather than keep the HQ/culture in Seattle, they moved to Chicago.

The culture changed and Boeing hasn't been the same since.

Anyone want to see Cliffs have Boeing-type issues.

There is a reason why Cliffs had success - yielding to USX's demands and moving the culture is a recipe for disaster -from a business perspective  :)

I believe the Continental-United merger was similar. Continental was the surviving corporation, but they moved to Chicago under United name and culture.

3 hours ago, simplythis said:

You must not have followed any development over the years

I’ve been on this board for over 17 years and I’ve actually seen development in Cleveland increase substantially in the last decade. 

A little perspective in 2019 Cleveland cliffs revenue was under 2 billion making barely a fortune 1000. 
 

It was only because it acquired much bigger companies revenue wise that it has grown to where it is today. So I don’t see how this whole Cleveland is always on the losing end makes sense. Recently we’ve been on the winning end on a lot of acquisitions and sure we may lose this one but even if we do what remains in Cleveland (the mining division) may still be the size of what the company is we in 2019. 

1 hour ago, cle_guy90 said:

A little perspective in 2019 Cleveland cliffs revenue was under 2 billion making barely a fortune 1000. 
 

It was only because it acquired much bigger companies revenue wise that it has grown to where it is today. So I don’t see how this whole Cleveland is always on the losing end makes sense. Recently we’ve been on the winning end on a lot of acquisitions and sure we may lose this one but even if we do what remains in Cleveland (the mining division) may still be the size of what the company is we in 2019. 

So 1 step forward and 2 steps back? That’s not something to be happy about. Again, the city and state must not let this company move its HQ. 

^It won’t. Team NEO will likely be on it. 

 

For those who don’t know, Team NEO is the reason Intel considered Ohio to begin with. The ONLY reason why the Cleveland region didn’t get the project is there was not enough developmental land ready to go (I believe Intel wanted 1,100 acres ready, which had not been assembled here previous to Team NEO speaking with Intel). Columbus just lost out on Foxconn previously but kept assembling land after the loss. Team NEO called Columbus and lobbed them the play. 
 

That’s why I’m gonna wait a bit before feeling any type of way about Cleveland Cliffs. 

Edited January 16Jan 16 by Oldmanladyluck

Also, I'm hoping/assuming that they are actively pulling together a large parcel for the next big project right?

15 hours ago, cle_guy90 said:

A little perspective in 2019 Cleveland cliffs revenue was under 2 billion making barely a fortune 1000. 
 

It was only because it acquired much bigger companies revenue wise that it has grown to where it is today. So I don’t see how this whole Cleveland is always on the losing end makes sense. Recently we’ve been on the winning end on a lot of acquisitions and sure we may lose this one but even if we do what remains in Cleveland (the mining division) may still be the size of what the company is we in 2019. 

So basically all of the progress will be undone due to one acquisition, so all of those points you made would be moot.

5 hours ago, Oldmanladyluck said:

^It won’t. Team NEO will likely be on it. 

 

For those who don’t know, Team NEO is the reason Intel considered Ohio to begin with. The ONLY reason why the Cleveland region didn’t get the project is there was not enough developmental land ready to go (I believe Intel wanted 1,100 acres ready, which had not been assembled here previous to Team NEO speaking with Intel). Columbus just lost out on Foxconn previously but kept assembling land after the loss. Team NEO called Columbus and lobbed them the play. 
 

That’s why I’m gonna wait a bit before feeling any type of way about Cleveland Cliffs. 

I learned that back story and it made me sick to my stomach. 

Folks, I already had to hand out suspensions today in this very thread about, ya know, what I said yesterday.  I didn't think it was going to be this hard to follow.  Really.  

 

Stop being Icarus, thanks.

 

Just announced that next month Goncalves is taking part in a City Club event with Baiju Shah, President & CEO, Greater Cleveland Partnership. Who knows what the future holds but that is somewhat comforting, signaling perhaps the understanding that Cleveland needs a little love? Let's hope. https://www.cityclub.org/forums/2025/02/21/man-of-steel-a-conversation-with-cleveland-cliffs-ceo-lourenco-goncalves

It does seem like all the momentum is now with Cliffs buying US Steel. I think it's very important to the local business community, the job market and our general psyche that at the very least Cliffs keeps its headquarters here and, at best, brings US Steel here as well. The last thing we want is Cliffs changing its name and moving to Pittsburgh. 

 

 NEO business leadership must proactively come together and work to keep Cliffs here. I think the outcome is still up in the air. Now is the time for a little schmoozing not to mention some arm-twisting. Maybe it starts with the City Club forum.

According to today's WSJ, Ancora Holdings (of Cleveland) is mounting a proxy fight to take control of the board of US Steel and keep it an independent company.   

 

WSJ is paywalled but there may be a free Bloomberg version of the story.

 

https://www.wsj.com/business/deals/activist-ancora-to-push-u-s-steel-to-drop-merger-with-nippon-steel-oust-ceo-ef1c47b3?mod=hp_listb_pos2

 

Here's the B;oomberg version:

 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-01-27/activist-ancora-seeks-us-steel-board-revamp-end-of-nippon-deal

Channel 5 News story is here

Edited January 27Jan 27 by Husat77

21 minutes ago, Husat77 said:

Channel 5 News story is here

Channel 5's report is actually the best of the bunch.

3 hours ago, Dougal said:

According to today's WSJ, Ancora Holdings (of Cleveland) is mounting a proxy fight to take control of the board of US Steel and keep it an independent company.   

 

WSJ is paywalled but there may be a free Bloomberg version of the story.

 

https://www.wsj.com/business/deals/activist-ancora-to-push-u-s-steel-to-drop-merger-with-nippon-steel-oust-ceo-ef1c47b3?mod=hp_listb_pos2

 

Here's the B;oomberg version:

 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-01-27/activist-ancora-seeks-us-steel-board-revamp-end-of-nippon-deal

 

I'm not too familiar with Ancora, are they a buy-and-divest acquirer?  

 

Could they have a secret deal with Cliffs to sell them the parts that fit their business?

17 minutes ago, E Rocc said:

 

I'm not too familiar with Ancora, are they a buy-and-divest acquirer?  

 

Could they have a secret deal with Cliffs to sell them the parts that fit their business?

 

Ancora is willing to build companies and then sell.  The part of their offer that leads me to believe they are going for a longer play is the involvement of Kestenbaum, who just left his CEO job at Stelco with a lot of Cliffs' money in his pocket.  Ancora AND Kestenbaum are buying shares of USS, and Kestenbaum wants to run it. With the $565 million breakup fee from Nippon, USS should be able to make some of those old mills moneymakers again.  It's a better offer, I think, for USS shareholders than Cliffs'.

 

 

28 minutes ago, Dougal said:

 

Ancora is willing to build companies and then sell.  The part of their offer that leads me to believe they are going for a longer play is the involvement of Kestenbaum, who just left his CEO job at Stelco with a lot of Cliffs' money in his pocket.  Ancora AND Kestenbaum are buying shares of USS, and Kestenbaum wants to run it. With the $565 million breakup fee from Nippon, USS should be able to make some of those old mills moneymakers again.  It's a better offer, I think, for USS shareholders than Cliffs'.

 

I forgot that US Steel used to own Stelco, then Kestenbaum was involved in the acquisition and ran It as an independent company.

 

It appears the acquisition by CC was cordial, so who knows.

 

I'm going...

 

 

Friday, February 21 | Noon

 

Man of Steel: A Conversation with Cleveland-Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves

Featuring:
Lourenco Goncalves
President and Chief Executive Officer, Cleveland-Cliffs

Baiju Shah - Moderator
President & CEO, Greater Cleveland Partnership

 

 

https://www.cityclub.org/forums/2025/02/21/man-of-steel-a-conversation-with-cleveland-cliffs-ceo-lourenco-goncalves?mc_cid=b2f07f2f05&mc_eid=ef506e179b

 

Trump is considering allowing Nippon Steel to acquire US Steel. 
 

https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/trump-considering-allowing-sale-of-u-s-steel-to-nippon-steel/

42 minutes ago, Clefan98 said:

Trump is considering allowing Nippon Steel to acquire US Steel. 
 

https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/trump-considering-allowing-sale-of-u-s-steel-to-nippon-steel/

Interesting, looks like he will allow Nippon to invest in US Steel not own. If true Cliffs’ hq should be safe here but was a shock Goncalves would offer to move to Pittsburgh so easily 

22 minutes ago, Willo said:

Interesting, looks like he will allow Nippon to invest in US Steel not own. If true Cliffs’ hq should be safe here but was a shock Goncalves would offer to move to Pittsburgh so easily 

Not sure this means either a Cliffs or Nucor purchase is off the table. If Nippon is just an "investor" presumably it's not going to be the only one. And I could still imagine a scenario where a U.S. company gets a controlling interest with Nippon taking, say, 40%.

16 minutes ago, LlamaLawyer said:

Not sure this means either a Cliffs or Nucor purchase is off the table. If Nippon is just an "investor" presumably it's not going to be the only one. And I could still imagine a scenario where a U.S. company gets a controlling interest with Nippon taking, say, 40%.

I can't imagine Nippon wanting to invest what it would take to get all USS's Chicago-area mills modernized if they were mere investors.  Maybe fix one and sell one? In that case Cliff's might be the buyer.  But it looks as if Cliffs better get good at making steel instead of deals.

Trump says US Steel will keep HQ in Pittsburgh as part of $14B 'partnership' with Japan-based Nippon

https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/state/trump-says-us-steel-will-keep-hq-in-pittsburgh-as-part-of-14b-partnership-with-japan-based-nippon

1 hour ago, simplythis said:

Trump says US Steel will keep HQ in Pittsburgh as part of $14B 'partnership' with Japan-based Nippon

https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/state/trump-says-us-steel-will-keep-hq-in-pittsburgh-as-part-of-14b-partnership-with-japan-based-nippon

Must've been a pretty nice airplane.

^ Seeking more support/approval in a swing state. This, if genuine, would likely be popular in SW Pennsylvania.

13 hours ago, simplythis said:

Trump says US Steel will keep HQ in Pittsburgh as part of $14B 'partnership' with Japan-based Nippon

https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/state/trump-says-us-steel-will-keep-hq-in-pittsburgh-as-part-of-14b-partnership-with-japan-based-nippon

And I thought the price Cliffs offered was overpaying wildly! This Nippon action, I fearlessly predict, will prove to be a mistake.

So Cliffs won't be moving HQ to Pittsburgh. That's good