Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance was edging closer to a temporary debt standstill with the collapsed Greensill Capital in urgent talks late on Friday to try to give itself more time to replace up to $6 billion in funding for a teetering global empire with 35,000 employees.

Greensill administrators Grant Thornton are a core part of the negotiations in Britain and will need to ratify a standstill. But it would only bring a partial reprieve for the global GFG business, which is desperately trying to prevent an unravelling of a network of businesses that had its start more than 60 years ago.