The U.S. government's ownership of a golden share in U.S. Steel will not block Nippon Steel from taking any management action that it deems appropriate, the Japanese steelmaker's CEO said on Thursday.

Nippon Steel’s $55-a-share acquisition creates the world’s second-largest steelmaker by annual production capacity at 86 million tonnes, behind China Baowu. However, the World Steel Association and many industry analysts rank the combined company fourth,

Japanese steel giant Nippon Steel has finalized its $14.9 billion acquisition of US Steel, ending an 18-month political and regulatory battle. The $55-a-share transaction makes Nippon the world’s second-largest steelmaker by output.