U.S. Steel agreed on December 18 to a sale to Nippon Steel for $14.1 billion, ending months of speculation, according to The New York Times.

One of the most significant American steel producers, formed more than a century ago from part of Andrew Carnegie’s giant industrial empire, has recently been considering several takeover bids, including by U.S. rival, Cleveland-Cliffs.

Nippon Steel will pay $55 a share in cash, compared with the $35 a share cash-and-stock bid that Cleveland-Cliffs made in August.

The combination with Nippon Steel would create “a truly global steel company with combined capabilities and innovation capable of meeting our customers’ evolving needs,” David B. Burritt, U.S. Steel’s chief executive, said in a statement. NSC President Eiji Hashimoto said the new owner would honor all collective bargaining agreements with United Steelworkers Union as part of commitment to maintaining strong stakeholder relations.

The acquisition is a further consolidation of the industry in the United States, which is now dominated by three major companies: Cleveland-Cliffs, Nucor and Steel Dynamics.

The sale of an iconic American company to a foreign firm is especially notable given substantial efforts in Washington in recent years to prop up companies like U.S. Steel.