The company has given itself until March 31 to conclude the deal with Greybull. The Mirror reported that negotiations are progressing well, but labor issues, pensions among them, is a sticking point.

“All of that is being discussed, but the deadline is the same,” a Tata spokesman told the Mirror.

An unnamed Greybull representative also told the tabloid that discussions have been “constructive.”

The Mirror has more on the story here.

Under the basic terms of the deal, Greybull will acquire the business for a fraction of its GBP1.5 billion in annual sales and would agree to commit GBP400 million to recapitalize it, The (India) Economic Times reported in January.  

Negotiations were thrown something of a curveball last month when Tata Steel Europe chief executive Karl Koehler announced he was leaving to take a senior leadership position with an unnamed German company.