New bidding group confirms interest in Coyotes
Last Updated: Friday, July 10, 2009 | 12:06 PM ET
CBC Sports
Phoenix head coach Wayne Gretzky told reporters at his charity golf tournament that there are four or five bidders still interested in purchasing the Coyotes. (Dave Sandford/Getty Images)Another group of investors confirmed early Friday that they're working on a potential bid for the Phoenix Coyotes.
Daryl Jones, managing director of Research Edge LLC, based in New Haven, Conn., said his company is looking into the possibility of buying a stake in the team along with others.
"We are involved in evaluating the Coyotes, which we are interested in investing in ourselves, but it's subject to us finalizing our due diligence, which is something we've just started," Jones told the Toronto Star. "We're considering putting capital into this situation, and the people we are working with and for are evaluating it themselves."
Though Jones didn't mention the other parties involved, The Globe and Mail says that the investors are Canadian.
Jones, who grew up in Bassano, Alta., and was a defenceman at Yale University, said his firm's bid would keep the struggling franchise in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Ariz.
"Our plan and idea is to keep it in Phoenix," he said. "We have a lot of work to do before we're ready to make the bid, or before we can make any recommendation in that regard.
"We do like the long-term potential and viability of having a team in Phoenix, the demographic of the area and things like that."
The problem is that the deadline to submit an application for ownership transfer has already passed, meaning it's unclear whether the group can even submit a formal bid for the team.
Judge Redfield T. Baum, presiding over the Coyotes bankruptcy hearing, has expressed his willingness to waive any deadlines if a significant bid comes in.
Qualified bids have to be registered with the United States Bankruptcy Court by July 24. The bankruptcy court is holding an auction on Aug. 5 for parties interested in keeping the team in Glendale. If nothing significant comes out of it, another auction will be held on Sept. 10 for bidders who want to move the team.
In court filings on Wednesday, the NHL said a new potential bidder approached the league with an offer to keep the club in Arizona, but didn't provide any other details.
When asked about the new bids at his golf tournament in Thornbury, Ont., Coyotes head coach Wayne Gretzky said there has been a lot of interest in the club.
"There's four or five bidders that are still involved, that are quietly trying to do this without having media focus and media attention," Gretzky told reporters. "There's always people looking to buy the team. I know personally there's three or four people that have been in Phoenix and worked with the city of Glendale and met with the NHL."
Jerry Reinsdorf, owner of the Chicago Bulls and White Sox, has offered $148 million US to buy the franchise out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy and keep the team in Phoenix.
Canadian businessman Jim Balsillie's bid remains the highest, at $212.5 million US, but his offer includes shipping the team to Hamilton, a move that the NHL doesn't want.
