POSCO to sell its stake in Nippon Steel

POSCO Holdings, the parent company of South Korea’s POSCO Group, has announced plans to divest its stake in Japan’s Nippon Steel, while maintaining strong partnerships between the companies. This is reported by The Korea Herald.

The decision, made as a result of mutual consultations, marks the end of the companies’ 25-year cross-shareholding relationship.

In the business report, POSCO classified its stake in Nippon Steel worth KRW 467 billion ($321 million) as assets held for sale, but the company has not yet determined the time and method for this.

The move follows Nippon Steel’s decision in September 2024 to sell its stake in POSCO Holdings, valued at approximately KRW 1.1 trillion, to provide funding for the acquisition of US Steel.

According to South Korean media, the sale of the stake in the Japanese steel company is part of POSCO’s broader corporate restructuring strategy aimed at stabilizing its financial structure and ensuring future growth. As of the end of last year, the company had already secured KRW 662.5 billion in cash through the disposal of 45 assets. In 2025, POSCO plans to raise an additional KRW 1.5 trillion through the further restructuring of 61 businesses.

As GMK Center reported earlier, POSCO reduced steel production by 1.1% year-on-year – to 33.17 million tons in 2024. Sales of rolled products in the period decreased by 1% y/y – to 32.8 million tons. This was due to the reconstruction of blast furnaces. However, sales of high value-added products increased despite weak global demand.