(Bloomberg) -- United States Steel Corp. and Nippon Steel Corp. are deliberating a decision to formally push back the time frame they expect to close their contentious $14.1 billion deal.

The steelmakers are expected to announced they now anticipate the transaction to close in the second half of 2024, according to people familiar with the conversations. That’s an adjustment from the current guidance of closing in the second quarter or third quarter. Such a move would be more of a formality, given the second quarter is nearly halfway done and the takeover is embroiled in a political firestorm.

Nippon Steel agreed to buy the Pittsburgh-based company in December, but opposition from the United Steelworkers and US President Joe Biden has left investors uncertain of the deal’s fate. US Steel is holding an special shareholders’ meeting Friday afternoon for investors to approve the takeover, which is widely expected to pass.

A national security review of the acquisition is unlikely to conclude until late this year and may extend into 2025, people familiar with the matter said in January. The transaction took another small blow this week after the US Justice Department opened an extended antitrust investigation into the takeover bid, according to people familiar with the situation.

US Steel declined to comment. Nippon Steel didn’t immediately provide comment.

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