News In Brief
| Washington
Big Steel merger wins US nod; now to court
In another of a series of mergers of major American companies, the Justice Department announced Wednesday it has approved a revised plan for the merger of two of the nation's largest steel companies - LTV Corporation and Republic Steel Corporation.
Under the plan, which must be approved by a federal judge, the Dallas-based LTV, the nation's third-largest steel company, and Republic, the fourth largest, would be allowed to merge. To do so, Republic, based in Cleveland, would have to shed two of its steel mills.
The steel companies had argued that merger was necessary since foreign competition, escalating costs, and inefficient plants were crippling the US steel industry.
At least six resolutions have been introduced in Congress to slow, ban, or simply study a recent spate of mergers in the oil industry, but congressional sources indicate the resolutions stand slim chance of passage.
