Cleveland, Ohio-based Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE: CLF) said that its previously announced partnership with South Korea’s largest steelmaker, POSCO, (NYSE: PKX), will help reinforce cooperation between the two nations’ industrial sectors as part of a new US-Korea trade agreement announced this week.
On September 17, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was executed between Pohang, South Korea-based POSCO -the world’s third largest steelmaker- and Cliffs, forming a strategic partnership. The partnership will allow POSCO to support and grow its established US customer base while ensuring that its products meet US trade and origin requirements, the company said in a press release.
The collaboration represents “a model of how allies can deepen industrial cooperation under fair and transparent trade principles, and aligns with US policy goals to strengthen domestic industry and attract foreign investment,” the company said in the release. Cleveland-Cliffs expects the ultimate outcome of this MOU to be “highly accretive to shareholders”.
“Our partnership with POSCO represents a meeting of two industrial champions at a pivotal time for global manufacturing,” said Celso Goncalves, Cleveland-Cliff’s executive vice president and chief financial officer. “We have long admired POSCO from afar and look forward to partnering with them as we take the next major transformative step for Cleveland-Cliffs,” he continued. “We are aligned in our vision for a stronger, self-reliant, and mutually beneficial industrial base across both nations [and] we look forward to welcoming POSCO to the Cleveland-Cliffs family and leveraging the combined resources and strengths of both companies.”
President of POSCO Holdings, Jutae Lee said, “We are delighted to enter into this important partnership with Cleveland-Cliffs, the premier steel company in America. This collaboration represents a meaningful step for POSCO to make a major investment in the United States and leverage all of Cliff’s current capabilities,” she added. “We look forward to supplying our current customers American-made steel through this partnership and maintaining the trusted relationships we have established in the United States.”
UBS is acting as financial advisors to Cliffs, and Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP. is serving as legal counsel. A formal announcement on a definitive agreement is expected in the fourth quarter of 2025 or first quarter in 2026 with closing expected in 2026, the companies said.
