US Steel has approved its proposed $14.9-billion acquisition by Japan’s Nippon Steel as expected, taking the merger one step closer to completion even as political opposition to the deal mounts.

US Steel has said that over 98 per cent of the votes were in favour of the deal, under which Nippon will pay $55 per share, an amount that represented a hefty premium when the takeover was announced in December.

Since then, however, several US lawmakers have come out in opposition to the deal, citing national security concerns. President Joe Biden has said that US Steel must remain a domestically-owned American company.

The deal has drawn strong criticism from the United Steelworkers (USW) labour union, which is worried about potential job losses.

“We are not surprised by stockholders electing to cash in and sell out the iconic American company’s employees and retirees,” the USW has said in response to the vote.

Regulators are also scrutinising the deal. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a powerful panel that reviews foreign investments in US companies, has met with the parties to discuss the deal, the Reuters has reported.