HOW long does it take you to decide whether you want to buy something?

I have never been much of a window shopper. I’m more of a - get into the shop, buy what I want, and get out fast - kind of a fella.

US billionaire Gary Klesch is clearly cut from a different cloth. He ponders long and hard and has a reputation for being a fearsome negotiator before he parts with his hard-earned dollars. Perhaps that is why he is a wealthy tycoon with money to burn and I am delaying repairs to my 12-year-old Golf in the hope that it will somehow fix itself.

Mr Klesch, the son of a boxing champion, has been mulling over a deal to buy parts of Tata Steel’s North-East steel mills since October last year when he entered exclusive talks and began a period of due diligence. Whenever The Northern Echo asked for an update on the deal we were told that a decision was expected “in the new year”, and when January came and went, we were told that ‘he will be making a final decision in the spring.’ It might not look much like summer out there, but it certainly isn’t spring.

The only time I have managed to speak to the elusive Mr Klesch he was being driven around Geneva where his group is based. The tycoon claimed affinity with Teesside steelworkers –and played down fears that he was planning job cuts.

“I grew up in a steel town, and worked at a steel mill, so I know what the industry is facing and I hope workers will have confidence in what we are doing so we can go forward together,” he said at the time.

The man from Cleveland Ohio has now gone cold on the ideal of snapping up assets in Cleveland UK, blaming rising energy costs in the UK and Chinese imports for his change of heart.

Mr Klesch also accused David Cameron’s government of failing to tackle energy costs and imports.

He is clearly a man with an eye for a bargain who looks for businesses that have fallen on hard times. Last November Mr Klesch decided against purchasing the struggling Milford Haven oil refinery in Wales after financing fell through.

His withdrawal from buying parts of Tata comes after the steel firm set up a new-stand alone business under new management. I hope that deal will buy the business time as it combats a very tough time for the steel industry. And I hope that the government heeds Mr Klesch's parting shot about their failure to support our foundation industries which employ thousands of North-East people.

Follow me on Twitter @bizecho