Excalibur Steel, a management buyout group interested in purchasing Tata Steel's British steelmaking operations, is ready to lend its support to rival bidder Liberty House, according to industry sources .

Tata said in March it wanted to sell its UK steel operation, which has been hit by cheap Chinese imports, rising costs and weak demand. The decision prompted a political scramble to find a buyer to save the thousands of jobs at stake. The deadline for final bid submissions is on Monday. A decision on how to proceed with the sale is to be taken at a meeting of the Tata board in Mumbai on Wednesday.

Talks between Excalibur and Liberty over a possible collaboration to rescue the steel-making operation are ongoing, sources said.

Excalibur would express their support for the Liberty proposal in its bid, while Liberty’s bid will include a statement welcoming the backing of members of the management buyout team, one of the sources said.

– (Reuters)