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THIS IS BREAKING NEWS... The bid price by the league has not yet surfaced. Look for updates as details become available.
National Hockey League Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly released the following statement regarding the NHL's submission of a bid on Tuesday to purchase the Phoenix Coyotes franchise out of bankruptcy:
"Today, the League filed its own bid to purchase the Phoenix Coyotes’ franchise out of bankruptcy in an effort to maximize the likelihood that the Club ultimately will be sold to an acceptable purchaser who is committed to operating the franchise in Glendale.
"We remain supportive of the other efforts that have been and are being made to purchase and operate the Coyotes in Glendale, and we will continue to do everything we can to assist interested groups in those efforts leading up to the scheduled sale hearing on September 10, 2009 and thereafter, if the NHL is the winning bidder.
"We believe this step was necessary at this time in order to best preserve and maximize the value of the Club asset for benefit of the Club’s creditors and for the community of Glendale.
"The bankruptcy petition and subsequent events have been incredibly damaging to the Club’s business, and the sooner the Club can be extricated from the bankruptcy process, the sooner Club personnel can begin to restore the team’s vitality and local fan base.
"In the event the League’s bid proceeds forward and ultimately is the one approved by the Court, we intend to conduct an orderly sale process to a third party buyer outside of bankruptcy.
"It continues to be our intention and hope to conclude satisfactory agreements with existing Club business partners that will allow the Coyotes to be owned and operated on a viable basis in Glendale for many years to come."
A hearing has been set for Sept. 2 to determine if the NHL's 26-0 rejection of Jim Balsillie by the league's Board of Governors is to be upheld, with the Coyotes scheduled to be auctioned off on Sept. 10th. Balsillie, the co-CEO of Research in Motion, has made a $212.5 million bid with the intent of relocating the club to Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The NHL wishes to keep the club in Glendale at all costs. Chicago White Sox and Chicago Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf has bid $148 million and has said that he is willing to keep the club in Glendale, while working to restructure the lease agreement with the city.
The move by the NHL seems to point to a "fail safe" move to thwart any and all attempts at Balsillie relocating the Coyotes.
If the league were to obtain ownership of the club, it would not be a first. Major League Baseball purchased the Montreal Expos from Jeffery Loria in 2002 for $120 million. The clubs was then sold under league control to the Lerner family and relocated to Washington, DC where they were rechristened the Washington Nationals.
Soiurce: National Hockey League
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