JSW Steel Ltd. may drop its bid for Essar Steel India Ltd. if it acquires Bhushan Power and Steel Ltd., Mint reported Oct. 18, citing two people close to the development.

"This is a much better strategic fit for JSW Steel, given its proximity to JSW's flagship plant in Vijaynagar, Karnataka," the news outlet quoted a source as saying.

The source said that if JSW acquires Bhushan, it would not make sense for the company to pursue Essar Steel as the latter is a larger deal and is on India's west coast.

The final decision on Bhushan rests on India's National Company Law Appellate Tribunal hearing a plea from Tata Steel Ltd. on Oct. 22 seeking to disqualify Liberty House's bid for missing the submission deadline for its offer and JSW Steel's bid for changing the basic parameters of its offer.

In August, JSW's revised bid for Bhushan reportedly came out on top, beating rivals Tata Steel and Liberty House Group.

Most of debt-laden Bhushan's creditors have selected JSW Steel Ltd. as the preferred bidder for its sale, Bloomberg recently reported.