Nippon Steel Corp. will buy United States Steel Corp. for $14.1 billion to create the world’s second-largest steel company — and the biggest outside of China — with a key role in supplying American manufacturers and automakers.

The deal ends months of uncertainty over the future of US Steel, an icon of American industry, which has been considering bids since it rejected an offer from rival Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. in August. Nippon Steel’s all-cash offer is significantly higher than the roughly $7.25 billion Cliffs offered at the time, and a whopping 142% premium to US Steel’s share price on the last trading day before it announced its strategic review.