The long United States Steel saga has suddenly become a matter of urgency. Boss David Burritt is fighting to salvage a $15 billion sale to Nippon Steel . Rival bidder Cleveland-Cliffs wants another shot at a takeover.

Ancora Holdings, a Mayfield Heights-based institutional asset management company and private wealth advisor, is calling on U.S. Steel to drop its merger agreement with Japanese-owned Nippon Steel, end its litigation against the federal government seeking to keep the deal alive and oust its Chief Executive.

U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel filed a separate lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., against the Biden administration to overturn the order and force a new review that could potentially lead to the deal. The Pittsburgh suit against Cliffs and McCall doesn't have any bearing on that decision.

Kestenbaum, currently the CEO of private equity firm Bedrock Industries Group, is known as a turnaround artist. At one time known for an attempted bid for the National Football League’s Carolina Panthers, the Brooklyn-born native is highly regarded in the steel industry.

Ancora Holdings Group said the board of U.S. Steel and its CEO have prioritized the sale to Nippon because they stand to profit if it goes forward.

Activist investor Ancora has nominated nine candidates to U.S. Steel's board of directors, as it looks to oust company CEO David Burritt and push the American steelmaker to back out of a $14.9 billion merger deal with Japan's Nippon Steel.

Ancora unveiled a strategy that would rally shareholders around a plan to oust U.S. Steel’s chief executive and drop litigation to salvage a merger with the Japanese steelmaker. The firm isn’t interested in pursuing a sale of U.S. Steel to another party, Ancora said, confirming an earlier report from The Wall Street Journal.

United States Steel stock has dropped almost 25% in the last one year, compared to the S&P500 index which has gained 24% during the same time..