clifs has to stop the merger. or they lose more then control. They will have lost leverage.
if someone else gets in there they lose the market power "suply chain control.
they think that important as evidence with news this week that they can starve out Algoma steele (algoma has only found alternate suply for 2 weeks production, hence Cliffs controled suply and Cliffs contols PRICE
That is all they care about.
Whatever it costs them they can pass on eventually to the market as long as they have a cheap suply. This is the answer to the cheap and plentifull suply