Privately held Esmark makes offer for US Steel, sets up bidding contest for iconic steelmaker
Industrial conglomerate Esmark said Monday it has made an all-cash offer to buy U.S. Steel that values the iconic steelmaker at $7.8 billion, topping an earlier offer from rival Cleveland-Cliffs. On Sunday, U.S. Steel said it had rejected a cash and stock offer from Cleveland-Cliffs that was valued at $7.3 billion as of the close of trading Friday. U.S. Steel also said it had received offers for all or parts of the company from several parties and was evaluating its options. Pittsburgh-based Esmark is run by James Bouchard, a former vice president in U.S. Steel’s European