NHL bids for Coyotes, plans to resell them

Phoenix Coyotes Shane Doan (C) celebrates with Kyle Turris (L) and Peter Mueller after scoring in the second period against the Vancouver Canucks during an NHL game in Glendale, Arizona, March 21, 2009.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The National Hockey League filed a bid for the bankrupt Phoenix Coyotes franchise on Tuesday and said it planned to re-sell the team to a third party outside of the bankruptcy process if it wins.

The news of the NHL's bid came shortly after a group led by Jerry Reinsdorf, owner of the Chicago White Sox and Chicago Bulls teams, which had enjoyed the NHL's support said it would not be able to submit a bid by a court-mandated deadline of Tuesday.

They had offered up to $148 million for the team.

The Coyotes filed for bankruptcy protection in May and an auction for the team is scheduled for September 10 in federal bankruptcy court in Arizona.

The NHL has until midnight Pacific time on Tuesday (0700 GMT Wednesday) to file its bid in the court's electronic system.

The NHL did not specify the terms of its bid but Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said in a statement that its action 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."

When the Coyotes filed for Chapter 11 protection, co-Chief Executive James Balsillie of BlackBerry maker Research in Motion offered to buy the team for $212.5 million on condition he be allowed to move the team to Hamilton, Ontario.

"This obviously comes as a surprise but we look forward to seeing what the NHL's bid is," Bill Walker, a spokesman for Balsillie, said of the NHL's move.

The NHL has insisted it wants to keep the team in Glendale and has repeatedly locked heads with Balsillie, last month dismissing his bid.

"We believe this step ...(is) 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 the Phoenix suburb of Glendale," Daly added on Tuesday.

A federal bankruptcy judge in Arizona is set to decide next week whether Balsillie's bid can be included in the bankruptcy auction, which originally was to be limited to bidders committing to keeping the team in Glendale.

Meanwhile Ice Edge Holdings LLC, a group of Canadian and U.S. businessmen that has previously offered up to $150 million, said on Tuesday that it had submitted a firm bid.

Balsillie filed an amended bid this week that would allow him to walk away from any sale of the Coyotes if the case is not resolved in his favor by September 14.

Balsillie in recent years has failed in his attempts to buy the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators.

The Coyotes have never made profit since moving to Arizona from Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1996.

The case is in Re: Dewey Ranch Hockey LLC, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Arizona, No. 09-09488.

(additional reporting by Steve Keating in Calgary)

(Editing by Lincoln Feast and Greg Stutchbury)